Minneapolis City Council to weigh resolution asking for no charges against U of M protestors

The Minneapolis City Council could vote next month on a resolution that, if adopted, would urge authorities to not seek charges against pro-Palestinian student protestors arrested on the University of Minnesota campus.

A group of students on Oct. 21 marched to Coffman Memorial Union and occupied Morrill Hall to protest the University’s investments and ties to Israel and demand the liberation of Gaza.

Despite these protesters being seen allowing people in Morrill Hall to evacuate safely, 11 of them were arrested, and students were given an interim suspension from the University, barring them from attending class; those who lived in student housing were evicted.

The resolution put forward by Council Member Robin Wonsley, Ward 2, expresses “solidarity with nonviolent campus activism opposing war and supporting Palestinian human rights” and urges no charges be filed against those arrested on Oct. 21.

The resolution is set to be brought to the Committee of the Whole on Dec. 3.

In a letter to University President Rebecca Cunningham, Wonsley wrote, “As someone who has worked with justice-impacted individuals, I know the devastating impact that criminal charges can have on someone’s life, especially for young people. We should not be giving college students criminal charges for engaging in nonviolent protest.”

While all the protesters were eventually released from custody, Robyn Harbison, 23, was charged with one count of 4th-degree assault for allegedly spitting onto an officer’s uniform while being arrested.

“Arrestees were questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, transferred to the Hennepin County Jail, and held on probable cause, reportedly, without charge for over 36 hours,” the proposed resolution states. “Arrestees have reported that they were insulted and mistreated by the police and that transgender women were held in men’s cells.”

Police have not responded to these allegations at this time. In February this year, the Minneapolis City Council passed a similar resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Middle East despite Mayor Jacob Frey initially vetoing it.

The UMN Students for a Democratic Society have announced on Instagram their plan to “pack the City Council meeting” on Dec. 3rd at 12:45 p.m. when the resolution will be discussed.

City records show the resolution was meant to be discussed on Tuesday. Still, it was postponed because the meeting instead dedicated a public forum to the City’s action in the John Sawchak hate crime shooting that occurred in late October and to discuss the future of George Floyd Square.