Protests at Johns Hopkins Universitys led to the arrest of multiple people, according to reports. WBAL-TV 11 in Baltimore announced that five people have been arrested after protests that began on May 1 became a security risk with all security cameras being covered and the doors to Garland Hall being chained shut.
The protests were due to the creation of a private police force at Johns Hopkins University and the school’s contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
From the Baltimore Sun:
The student protesters have refused to leave Garland Hall until University President Ronald Daniels negotiates with them. They want the university to cancel plans for a private police force, an initiative approved this session by the Maryland General Assembly, as well as the end to contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“On May 1, a group of protesters at Johns Hopkins, including both students and outside activists, significantly escalated an ongoing month-long protest by forcing the evacuation of students and staff from Garland Hall, the university’s main administration building, and chaining shut all exterior doors,” a university spokesperson said. “The university has gone to great lengths to support protest and free expression on campus, but the occupation of Garland Hall became a major safety risk and severely disrupted university services. In order to bring the occupation of Garland Hall to an end, the university made numerous attempts to engage in dialogue with the student protestors, to no avail. The university also took the extraordinary step of extending amnesty to any protestor who departs and does not return to Garland Hall.
“This morning, the university requested the assistance of the Baltimore City Fire Department and Baltimore Police Department to ask the protesters to vacate the property, with the offer of amnesty if they did so.”
Video has since surfaced online that shows three people being escorted out of Garland Hall in handcuffs.
No further information is available at this time.
