The president of Portland State University in Oregon says she is calling on the city’s police to remove anti-Israel "trespassers" who have caused "property damage" to the campus’ main library.
PSU President Ann Cudd said the anti-Israel demonstrations on campus escalated Monday when a "group of individuals broke into Millar Library, the main PSU library, and entered the building" while "other protesters remained outside the building, blocking access."
"Portland State University supports free speech. That is what we are all about. And we know that this issue, the war in Gaza, is important to many individuals in our community and emotions are running high. Many feel that the injustices are just too large to ignore," Cudd said. "And I understand this, but I cannot condone and excuse breaking and entering. I cannot condone the property damage that has taken place at PSU’s library."
"PSU has requested now the assistance of Portland Police Bureau to remove the trespassers from the library," she added. Police estimate that 50 to 75 people are currently inside the building.
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Cudd said graffiti has been spray-painted "all over the front of the library" and that "all the things that are written on the library are pretty vile and they’re pretty inappropriate."
"With the breaching of the library and the fortification going on at the library, this has now become a criminal event and it’s no longer considered to be a public order or free speech event and requires a different type of response," Portland Police Bureau Chief Bob Day said.
Day added that police are working with PSU and its law enforcement "to develop a plan to best approach the situation in the hopes of deescalating and resolving this with no arrests or no amount of force."
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Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said he expects felony charges to be filed against the protesters, including burglary and felony criminal mischief, along with other possible misdemeanors.
"Our educational institutions deserve to be safe spaces and for our students and campuses to be able to function without fear or threats of intimidation of violence," he said.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler also blasted the protesters’ actions, saying "What I hope the people in the library hear is we are unified – the university, the city, the county, the prosecutors, the police, we are all unified and we will not allow acts of criminal destruction or violence to carry the day in our city."
