JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An attorney representing more than a dozen pro-Palestinian protestors who were arrested at UNF last week told News4JAX he believes the police response was disproportionate and the trespassing after warning charges should be dropped.
VIDEO: Solidarity rally held on JSO’s steps for protesters arrested at UNF
On the third day of a pro-Palestine demonstration at UNF on May 6, 16 people were taken into custody.
The university said half of them are students.
Attorney Marcus Barnett is representing 15 out of the 16 people arrested pro bono, calling them the “UNF 16″.
“Very few people are willing to step up for unpopular causes for controversial causes,” Barnett said. “And the thing that protects our freedom the most, is when everybody has a right to express their opinion, no matter your race, creed, or gender orientation, or faith, and when you can freely express that, we’re a better country for it.”
Incident reports provided by UNF show police warned the protestors to clear the green for a curfew several times Thursday night. When protestors refused, they were arrested.
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A UNF spokesperson said in a statement Friday the warnings were consistent with the university’s enforcement of reasonable time, place and manner restrictions, but Barnett said he thinks those orders weren’t lawful.
“[To make the orders lawful], there would have to be official university policy, and the policy would have to be equally enforced,” Barnett said. “They couldn’t be singled out because of the content of their speech, or the color of their skin, and there’d have to be the same rules for everybody. And that would be a lawful order. If there was a curfew at 10 that applies to everybody, fine. If there’s a curfew at 10 only for them, then it’s not lawful.”
He said he’s prepared to fight the charges, but he’s hoping the university decides to drop them, saying he thinks the protesters have been through enough.
“This was quite an ordeal and disproportionately harsh,” Barnett said.
Elias Joseph, who was among those arrested, agrees. They said they spent almost 24 hours in custody, and they believe they didn’t do anything wrong.
“We pay thousands of dollars in tuition to attend this university and there is no closing time for the green. They did not apply that policy to any other people,” Joseph said. “I think the university really greatly overreacted.”
Some on campus have criticized the protests as divisive and anti-Semitic, which protestors have denied.
News4JAX spoke with Rabbi Shmuli Novack of Chabad at UNF the day the protestors were released.
“The First Amendment is very important,” Novack said. “And everybody has the right to express themselves. You’re allowed to be an idiot...you have that legal right. I think the university has a difficult balance, to address the First Amendment rights as well as the safety and security of our students. And they’ve been doing a good job.”
Joseph said the arrest has not bowed them.
“This has not changed my perspective...I definitely still wholeheartedly believe that genocide is not right. I don’t think that’s a very hard thing to believe in,” they said.
Barnett and Joseph said there is a meeting with students involved in the protest and the university president scheduled for Thursday.
A spokesperson from UNF said Monday they could not comment or respond to our questions as this is an ongoing investigation.