Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian protesters march onto USF's campus (2024)

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marched down Fowler Avenue and onto the campus of the University of South Florida on Wednesday, a day after another rally where police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The protest started east of campus in Temple Terrace, at 56th Street and Fowler, and grew to about 300 people before the crowd began making its way toward the university around 7 p.m.

Police were present as the protesters marched onto campus, requesting they remain on the sidewalk. Officers also stopped traffic coming in and out of campus at Fowler Avenue and Leroy Collins Boulevard.

Once at USF, group marshals blocked traffic as they walked along. Protestors gathered on the lawn of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, where a day before officers dispersed what the school deemed an "unlawful assembly" with tear gas.

Police hung back and observed as protesters, including children and older adults, gave speeches, prayed and chanted on the lawn. The group marched off the campus around 8:30 p.m.

The group had about twice as many people as the Tuesday protest and greatly outnumbered police, who stayed on the perimeter of the plaza. There were no incidents or arrests reported.

The protest, the third on campus this week, was to show support for Palestinians during the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, as well as protection of free speech and academic freedom, according to one of the organizing groups, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society.

Demonstrators are calling on USF officials to fully divest from Israel, participate in an academic boycott and condemn the killing of Palestinians in Gaza, according to a news release from the group.

"Why we've been out there and why we will be out there today (Wednesday) is for Palestine," Victoria Hinkley, a spokesperson for the group, said before the rally. "We're standing steadfast with the Palestinian resistance as they're fighting against this genocide."

On Tuesday, law enforcement used tear gas to disperse those who refused to leave the plaza after a university-mandated deadline.

In a release late Tuesday, university officials said protesters were informed several times to remain peaceful and end the event by 5 p.m.

When authorities saw protesters bringing in wooden shields, umbrellas and tents, and locking arms in a refusal to leave, officials said they determined the protest was no longer peaceful.

"When participants continued to refuse to comply, law enforcement dispersed the protestors and took numerous individuals into custody in the process," Tuesday's release said.

Officials said one person was arrested with a firearm in his waistband.

Those arrested Tuesday and their charges:

• Atah Kheir Othman, 39, Plant City — trespass, unlawful assembly, possession of a firearm on school property, resisting officer without violence
• Daniel Codie Powell, 32, St. Petersburg — unlawful assembly, trespass, resisting officer without violence
• Sarah Fayiz, 24, Tampa — trespass, unlawful assembly, resisting officer without violence
• Adnan Yousef Elyaman, 20, Ocala — unlawful assembly, trespass, resisting officer without violence
• Cameron Pressey, 27, Tampa — unlawful assembly, trespass, resisting officer without violence
• Bailey Nicole Wagner, 24, Land O’Lakes — unlawful assembly, trespass, resisting officer without violence
• Anas Khalid Juma, 21, Temple Terrace — resisting officer without violence, unlawful assembly, trespass
• Jacob Leonardo Tilelli, 23, Holmes Beach — trespass, unlawful assembly, resisting officer without violence, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting officer with violence
• Emmanuel Roces Atmosfera, 21, Lake Worth — resisting an officer with violence, disrupting school or lawful assembly, resisting officer without violence, trespass, aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony with a weapon
• Jake Isadore Geffon, 23, Treasure Island — Battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting officer with violence, trespass

All 10 arrested on Tuesday had been released from jail by Wednesday evening. Most were charged with trespass, unlawful assembly and resisting arrest without violence.

During a Monday protest on the plaza, three others were arrested, including a WUSF administrative employee.

According to the university, five of those arrested were students, four had past ties to the school and two were students that did not graduate.

"Students go to universities to learn and grow and what happens? They are attacked with tear gas and riot gear and police -- seven jurisdictions of police,” Yun Zhang, with Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said during a press conference at Wednesday’s rally.

The protests are taking place as USF prepares to host several thousand people this week for commencement ceremonies.

The state university system has sent a memo to public universities urging them to ensure graduation ceremonies aren’t canceled or disrupted because of protests.

“While we respect and honor the First Amendment, a commencement ceremony is not the time nor place to hold a political protest,” Chancellor Ray Rodrigues wrote in the memo.

The memo authorizes schools to take any steps necessary to ensure the safety of attendees at these ceremonies.

WUSF's Gabriella Pinos, Nancy Guan, Mark Schreiner and Julio Ochoa, and Central Florida Public Media's Danielle Prieur contributed to this report.