Boston, MA
Police enter MIT protesters’ encampment, days after shutdown order
CAMBRIDGE – A large police force entered pro-Palestinian protesters’ encampment on the MIT campus early Friday morning.
Officers lined up around the tent encampment at about 4 a.m. and could be seen breaking down tables and tents as a group of protesters chanted nearby. It was not immediately clear if anyone has been arrested.
Several roads surrounding MIT, including Massachusetts Avenue, were shut down Friday morning.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth had ordered protesting students to leave the encampment space on Kresge lawn by Monday. The school began suspending students after the deadline was ignored.
The encampments at MIT and other Massachusetts colleges began in late April, inspired by protesting students at Columbia University.
On Thursday afternoon, police arrested several pro-Palestinian protesters who were blocking the garage entrance to an MIT research building in Cambridge. Protestesr said they want MIT to divest from Israeli-tied businesses, including research done for Israel Defense Forces.