An Ohio State student and staff member were arrested at the Ohio Union while protesting a pro-Israel event. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
Ohio State has confirmed that the two people arrested protesting a pro-Israel event on Tuesday were a student and an administrative staff member.
Dan Hedman, a university spokesperson, confirmed their affiliation to the university in an email Wednesday and said they were charged with criminal trespassing. Both remain unidentified.
Several pro-Palestinian groups were protesting an event hosted by Students Supporting Israel at the Ohio Union, where two Israel Defense Force soldiers were speaking as a part of “Triggered: From Combat to Campus” tour, per prior Lantern reporting.
Criminal trespassing is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
The two were a part of Students for Justice in Palestine and Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, Shannon Winnubst said. She is a professor and a member of the faculty group.
Winnubst and the staff member were at the protest to support the students, Winnubst said.
“I went over just to observe what was happening, mostly, and to support the students in whatever was unfolding,” Winnubst said.
Winnubst said that there were about 25 protesters in the lobby, with about 12 police guarding the door to the event and the entrance to the Union.
Winnubst said the arrests unfolded when members of the Campus Activism and Event Engagement Team repeatedly asked the protesters where to stand.
“They took a ton of time figuring out where to stand, how to stand,” Winnubst said. “They were very concerned that the students not block the entrance to the event, which they were by no means doing.”
When asked about what the campus activism team did, Hedman said the protesters were given multiple warnings.
Winnubst said issues began when protesters began chanting “Free Palestine.”
“The noise level was simply not at all that high,” Winnubst said. “But they wouldn’t give them a clear answer. So every time they did it again, they would come and say, ‘Well, that’s too much.’”
According to University Space Standards, amplified sound and other loud noise that is disruptive is prohibited. This does not apply for events where noise is necessary for official university functions.
Winnubst said a police officer was ordering how many people were allowed to talk at a time.
“So at first it was only four could speak at once, and then it was only two could speak at once,” Winnubst said.
Winnubst said she left the Union around 6:40 and as she was walking to her car, received the news that the student and staff member were arrested.
“My understanding is he was stepping in to try to protect the student, and they just arrested him,” Winnubst said.
Hedman said the two were arrested for disrupting a scheduled event and violating university space standards.
