ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – We are getting a new look at what happened when New Mexico State Police were called overnight in April to clear the UNM Student Union Building from pro-Palestinian protestors.

On April 29, a few dozen protestors set up camp in the UNM SUB. They barricaded the doors and wrote on the walls with chalk, demanding the university divest from Israel.

Later that evening, university police made an announcement that the SUB was closed, and they need to leave in the next 30 minutes. 

The 30-minute window came and went. Around 3 a.m. more than 30 State Police officers showed up and started taking down the barricades.

While that was happening, the protestors made themselves heard. One person who had stayed in a tent – not with the main group – was quickly taken into custody.

After a long standoff with protestors, the riot squad moved in. Eventually, the remaining protestors were pushed outside.

In total 16 people were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing, and wrongful use of public property. Of them, five were students, and four were former students. 

A few weeks later at the duck pond, UNMPD arrested seven people, two of them current students.

As for meeting the protestors’ demands, and showing what investments they have in Israel, the university says it will release “the results of its research into its investment portfolio by August.”