Cops use pepper balls, tasers to break up pro-Hamas protests at Emory University — arrest some faculty members



The pro-Hamas protests spreading across college campuses around the nation recently reached Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, with more than 100 activists gathered on campus.

Local reports stated that police arrested at least 28 protesters on Thursday. The Georgia Department of Public Safety noted that the Emory Police Department would issue any and all charges. The Atlanta Police Department also assisted in breaking up the protest.

Videos posted online capturing the unruly demonstrations appeared to show law enforcement using tasers and pepper balls to disperse the crowd.

The rowdy group used large protest signs to shove law enforcement officers. Some activists appeared to throw their signs at police.

Emory students show zero respect for hard-working law enforcement officers as they shove them against a wall and assault them and shout \u2018KKK\u2019 as the officers struggle to push them back.
— (@)

Caroline Fohlin, a professor at the university, was among those detained by police. A video of the arrest showed Fohlin refusing to get on the ground and yelling at arresting officers, “I’m a professor!”

An individual, presumably partaking in the anti-Israel protest, can be heard shouting at the police, “You people are fascists! You are Hitler!”

"I'm a professor!"\n\nEmory University economics professor Caroline Fohlin thrown to the ground by police during Pro-Palestine protest.
— (@)

Philosophy Department Chair and president-elect of the Emory University Senate, Noëlle McAfee, was also among those detained.

Chair of the Emory University Philosophy Department handcuffed and arrested. \n\nNoelle McAfee was arrested for participating in the unlawful protest on campus.
— (@)

James Hoesterey, an assistant professor of religion at the university, was seen tearing down caution tape put up around a lawn, according to a video posted to social media. Pro-Israel students confronted the professor, who then called the university “fascists.”

A liberal professor, James Hoesterey at Emory University has a meltdown over cushion tape stopping people from occupying the lawn. \n\nThese are the people who are teaching our children.
— (@)

In another video, law enforcement officers appeared to use pepper balls to break up the crowd by firing toward the ground. Others, frustrated by the shutdown of the protest, claimed that rubber bullets were fired at students.

Emory University said in a statement to Fox News, “Several dozen protesters trespassed into Emory University’s campus early Thursday morning and set up tents on the Quad.”

“These individuals are not members of our community. They are activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals. Emory does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on campus. The Emory Police Department ordered the group to leave and contacted Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol for assistance,” the statement continued.

Following the morning arrests, some protesters returned to campus in the evening, congregating at the university’s Candler School of Theology building, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The demonstrators, carrying Palestinian flags and holding protest signs, chanted, “Move cops, get out the way.”

Emory Police Department Commander Thomas Manns told the news outlet, “The ones that were arrested, there wasn’t anything peaceful about what was going on.”

The state patrol said, “During the encampment protest response, Troopers deployed pepper balls to control the unruly crowd but did not use tear gas.”

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'We're here! We're queer! Get used to it!': President of college founded by Methodists promotes LBGTQ mural in freshman dorm



The president of Emory University — an Atlanta college founded by Methodists — promoted an LGBTQ mural recently painted on the wall of a residence hall for freshmen students.

What are the details?

A video showing the mural was on President Greg Fenves' Instagram page under a "Move-In" subheading as of Tuesday morning.

The stairwell mural depicts five protesters adorned with some colors from the LGBTQ rainbow flag holding signs that read, "The Kiss," "Pride," and "We're here! We're queer! Get used to it!"

Image source: Instagram video screenshot via @gregfenves, composite

Another mural seen in the video depicts Democratic political activist Stacey Abrams, who failed in her bid to become Georgia governor in 2018 but afterward was credited with helping flip the state blue during the 2020 election — and also in a special January 2021 election that tipped the balance of power in the U.S. Senate to Democrats.

In addition, one of Abrams' groups — the New Georgia Project — came under investigation last year for "repeatedly and aggressively" seeking to register "ineligible, out-of-state, or deceased voters" before the state's Jan. 5 Senate runoffs.

Next to Abrams in the mural is an image of John Lewis, a civil rights icon and longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia who died last year at the age of 80.

Also in the mural is an image of a person who appears to be Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Image source: Instagram video screenshot via @gregfenves

Both murals were painted in Emory's Alabama Hall, a dormitory for first-year students, Campus Reform reported, adding that they were installed prior to students moving in for the fall semester.

The outlet added that Emory University itself shared images of the murals on its Instagram story.

Anything else?

Emory's website indicates that while Methodists founded the school in 1836, it has "grown into a place where people of all different faiths and degrees of devotion come together." Indeed, the featured image on Emory's "Religious & Spiritual Life" page shows the Dalai Lama greeting a crowd of smiling faces.

Campus Reform said Emory hasn't responded to its inquiry regarding whether the university paid to have the murals created; the outlet added that the school also did not respond to a request for comment.

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