Once again in Richmond, law enforcement showed little restraint against protesters.
Protests against the United States’ involvement in Gaza have been ongoing in Richmond on a regular basis for nearly seven months. The first rally in Richmond since Israel began major military operations in Gaza after October 7 was a community-led march on October 15. Marches and vigils continued as the civilian death toll in Gaza quickly surpassed the number of victims murdered on October 7.
However, in April, the national climate changed with campus occupations replacing street marches. College campuses at elite Ivy League schools like Columbia University were met with large police presences and arrests. The occupation then became more widespread. The first universities in Virginia to hold this sit-in style of protests were Mary Washington University and Virginia Tech. MWU had 12 students arrested, and then Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said that he would not allow encampments on campuses; Virginia Tech had 82 protesters arrested.
On Monday morning, VCU students began to hold a protest on the lawn in front of Cabell Library on the Monroe Park Campus. Organizers did not call it an encampment. Beginning at 8 AM, the protesters for Palestine declared the grassy area a Liberated Zone.
Not much later, VCU’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Aaron Hart, came out to lay out the rules and policies. More protesters began dropping off supplies, bottles of water, and food. Dancing and music were pastime celebrations. Protesters offered me food like vegan feta sandwiches. I was generously offered two sandwiches. Normally, I would have felt guilty about taking too much food from protesters, but I had seen this all before. This food would be thrown away by the police by the end of the night.
As the day went on, things took a dramatic shift by 5:30 PM. A pickup truck filled with pallets began dropping off their cargo, and protesters started setting up tents. Not long after, rumors began circulating that law enforcement was spotted with riot gear. At 8:33 PM, about two dozen VCU Police officers in riot gear stepped off a bus. Not long after, Richmond Police and Virginia State Police arrived as well.
VCU Police led the first charge. Some protesters threw water bottles at police with helmets and shields, while other protesters held a line of those pallets that had been brought in. Police began grabbing the pallets and throwing them in the direction of onlookers. Police also began using their shields as melee weapons and started striking protesters.
Behind the VCU PD, the Virginia State Police formed a line. Richmond Police were also on the scene. RPD officers deployed chemical agents that looked like pepper spray and CS gas. Yes, it was Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s officers deploying tear gas again.
Back in 2020, Richmond Police deployed chemical agents on protesters around the Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee. Now, in 2024, officers are doing the same because protesters set up tents.
Before 11:00 PM, police had secured the area, and sanitation workers began removing objects in the grassy area that had been called the Liberated Zone. VCU released a statement explaining the use of force: “Final exams begin this week, and VCU must provide students the opportunity to safely and successfully complete the semester.”
House of Delegates member Rae Cousins, who represents Richmond, issued a statement saying, “Excessive force towards students who are protesting non-violently is unacceptable. The right to assemble peacefully is a hallmark of our democracy, which we must protect.”
These crackdowns on college campuses have been attempts to paint these protests as antisemitic. Youngkin laid the groundwork for doing so with his Commission to Combat Antisemitism. However, the problem I found with this report that it equates opposition to Israel with antisemitism and glosses over right-wing extremists and white supremacists.
The number of arrests and injuries were not immediately available. Going through my footage, I saw that at least ten protesters were arrested, and there was blood on the elbows of a police officer. The collection of footage provides my perspective of yesterday on campus.
Update: VCU says 13 were arrested last night, 6 were students.
Main photo by Goad Gatsby: VCU Police with riot gear at VCU campus on April 29, 2024
Read more from Goad Gatsby HERE
