Several “individuals” have been arrested on felony charges after campus buildings were defaced Friday with graffiti, Case Western Reserve University said Monday.
The graffiti included red handprints and calls for divestment from Israel as well as allegations the university is complicit in killing children in Gaza, according to a social media video.
The university did not confirm or deny if the people arrested were current students in a statement Monday evening.
"Earlier today, multiple individuals were arrested on felony charges in connection with the vandalism of buildings, structures and artwork across our campus overnight on Nov. 8," the university said. "These individuals have been transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail, where they are afforded full legal rights, including access to counsel. As this is now a criminal investigation, the university is unable to provide further comment."
Ideastream Public Media was not immediately able to confirm how many people were arrested or what charges they may face.
“Overnight, a group of individuals vandalized multiple buildings, structures and artwork on our campus with paint and glued posters, some of which included what the university considers antisemitic language and symbols,” the university said in the statement about the graffiti. “Our facilities staff has been working since early this morning to clear the vandalism, repair the damage and restore our campus. We strongly condemn the actions of these individuals and are investigating the incidents.”
Campus police arrested student activists who were not involved with the graffiti, according to a statement sent Monday by the Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community, a group of local pro-Palestinian activists.
In the spring, a student activist group called Students for Justice In Palestine held a weeks-long occupation-style protest on campus, calling for the university, which owns Israel bonds, to divest from the country amid the Israel-Hamas war. In that protest, two dozen protesters, many of them students, were detained and released by police after students set up an encampment in the Kelvin Smith Library Oval.
The individuals arrested on Monday were not affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine, but some see this round of arrests as targeted, the Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community group said.
"Friends of those arrested report that the arrests are retaliatory and politically motivated," the group wrote.
Students for Justice in Palestine held a protest Monday night in support of students arrested, and to "denounce the university's ongoing racist targeting of Palestinian students and those who speak up for Palestine," according to the release.
The university has previously said it supports freedom of expression but that constructive dialogue should not involve hate speech or intimation and that compliance with university policies helps ensure a welcoming environment.
The Cleveland and Northern Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) had filed a civil rights complaint against Case Western Reserve University in July, accusing the school of discriminating against Palestinian students and their supporters.
In July, the university argued it has consistently supported students' and staff's right to protest in accordance with its freedom of expression policy.
