University of South Florida protester, 39, who brought a gun to Palestinian is charged along with nine others
Among the protesters arrested at the University of South Florida pro-Palestine demonstration was a 39-year-old man with a gun.
Atah Othman is charged with trespassing on property, unlawful assembly, resisting an officer and possession of a firearm on school property.
It is unclear what his connection to the school is, or exactly what type of weapon he is carrying.
Atah Kheir Othman, 39, was arrested Tuesday on the USF campus and charged with, among other things, felony possession of a firearm on a campus
Some of the protesters did not appear to be USF students
The arrests came after dozens of agitators gathered near Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza on the Tampa campus for a demonstration that quickly got out of hand. Several arrests were made at the same location on Monday.
The school said the protest would no longer be considered lawful after 5pm on Tuesday.
When the protesters failed to disperse by then, police arrived with tear gas to break up the group before making arrests.
Othman was arrested along with nine others and released on bail just after midnight on Wednesday.
Protesters at the University of South Florida saw their Gaza Solidarity camp broken up Tuesday evening
Some protesters held up wooden shields and umbrellas as police arrived with tear gas to disrupt the demonstration
The anti-Israel protest on campus was organized by the group Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society. It attracted about 100 protesters, some of whom were not enrolled in college.
According to a local NBC report, some protesters lined up with umbrellas and wooden shields as police moved in to clear them.
Ultimately, law enforcement authorities used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Tuesday: “After repeatedly ignoring several dispersal commands while assisting University of South Florida Police with an unsanctioned protest, #teamHCSO used tactical skills to evacuate agitators. ‘
Others arrested and released, who may not have been students but have now been charged with misdemeanor charges, include: Emmanuel Atmosfera, 25, and Leonardo Tilelli, 23.
Among the others arrested were Daniel Powell, 32, Jake Geffon, 23, and 27-year-old Cameron Pressey.
It is not clear what older, in some cases armed, non-student protesters were doing during the student-organized demonstration.
USF told Fox News that any student arrested as part of the protests could be subject to institutional sanctions.
On social media after the closure, the vocal student group wrote: “SHAME ON USF! The USF administration enabled the brutality of students and community members who exercised their rights to freedom of speech and assembly.
‘We will not allow ourselves to be silenced. We call on students, teachers and the community to attend an emergency meeting in solidarity with students and Palestine!’
The school told students to vacate the area by 5pm on Tuesday or face consequences
The consequences were the intervention of law enforcement, who would then arrest ten of the demonstrators
A pro-Palestinian protester listens to a speaker at the school’s MLK Plaza before the encampment was abolished
Radical students wearing keffiyehs were arrested, as they have been in many schools across the country this week
Pro-Palestinian protesters take their belongings and leave the premises as law enforcement officers patrol the University of South Florida
A pro-Palestinian protester is arrested by law enforcement at the University of South Florida on April 30
Law enforcement officers arrest a protester after clearing an “unlawful assembly” where pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at MLK Plaza at the University of South Florida on Tuesday, April 30.
The Sunshine State has taken a particularly strong stance against the wave of pro-Palestinian protests that have popped up on college campuses in Florida and across the country.
The University of Florida shut down such a protest earlier this week and reportedly arrested nine demonstrators.
In a statement, the university made its position perfectly clear: “This isn’t complicated: The University of Florida is not a daycare center, and we don’t treat protesters like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they will. face the consequences.”
The large school is run by former Republican Senator Ben Sasse.