Police arrest 15, disperse protesters at McGill administration building Thursday

MONTREAL — Montreal police said 15 people were arrested after a protest was forcibly dispersed Thursday at McGill University.

The arrests came after demonstrators occupied the main administration building on its downtown campus, which saw officers in riot gear launch chemical irritants.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have camped out on McGill’s lower field since late April, demanding the university divest from its investments in the Israeli military and cut ties with Israeli academic institutions.

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill, a student group participating in the camp, said on social media that “an autonomous group of students” occupied the James Administration Building.

About 100 protesters gathered in front of the building, a few hundred meters from the main site of the camp.

A representative of the student group says the blockade at the administration building was in response to the global call to escalate for Rafah, referring to the southern Gaza city where Israel is leading an offensive.

Rama Al Malah, who says he was not part of the occupation of the administration building, said the blockade was also due to what protesters call McGill’s continued complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“We watched as our students (were) brutalized and arrested inside, and the students essentially refused to leave their grounds,” Al Malah said.

“They remained standing in front of the administrative building in support of their comrades but also in support of our demands.

“The police met this with tear gas and also knocking people to the ground, so physical attacks as well.”

Metal fences were erected in front of the building’s entrance, with protesters standing in front holding banners, one of which read “Genocide by McGill”.

Two banners, one reading “You could have given up 41 days ago,” hung from a third-floor window. Shortly after the protest began, officers could be seen inside the building and one of them unfurled a banner.

Police officers wearing helmets and face shields stood on both sides of the building, watching over the chanting protesters. Officers also stood outside several other entrances to the downtown campus, preventing people from entering.

About two hours after the start of the protest, to the right of the administration building, about 20 officers confronted the protesters, most of them chanting in unison: “Shame, shame.”

Police then began arguing with some of the crowd and fired chemical irritants to disperse them, sending people running, covering their mouths and eyes.

But that didn’t work, and the protesters regrouped shortly afterwards and returned to face the police, chanting: “Why are you in riot gear? There is no violence here.”

Police in riot gear forcibly removed the protesters from the administration building, pushing them back into the camp on the field below.

After a tense standoff lasting about 45 minutes, police fired a second round of chemical irritants and violently pushed the protesters to disperse them from the building using batons and shields.

Officers then formed a line, blocking access to the building, while protesters gathered further away near the tents that had been set up on the lower field since late April.

A woman holding a loudspeaker told the crowd of about 200: “If you’re hurt, go to the camp, if you’re not, go to the streets.”

Some protesters gathered on Sherbrooke Street despite the rain.

In an update early Friday morning, the SPVM says the operations ended around 10:30 Thursday night, with 13 people arrested for trespassing and two others arrested for obstructing police work.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press