Several Protesters Arrested In Johns Hopkins Demonstration Over Police Force

Baltimore police arrested several protesters who locked themselves in a Johns Hopkins University (JHU) building over the creation of a private police force and the school’s contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Wednesday.

At least seven people were arrested Wednesday, The Baltimore Sun reported. Some were students at the school and others were community members.

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Protesters held sit-ins at Garland Hall, JHU’s main administration building, from April 3. But the situation escalated when protesters chained doors, covered all security cameras and forced students and staff to leave the building in May.

University staff were also harassed and intimidated during the course of the protest, JHU said in a May 3 message.

JHU requested the city police, assisted by the Baltimore City Fire Department, to end the occupation at 4:51 a.m. Wednesday.

“The university’s request for assistance was based on grave concerns about the unsafe circumstances in and around Garland Hall and followed multiple offers of amnesty from university officials and warnings from the police if the protesters left the building,” the statement said.

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Garland Hall houses financial information for university students and families, student disability assistance and paying student workers among other services.

Student workers initially could not pick up their checks due to the demonstration. Several exams were also postponed because students with disabilities use the building for testing accommodations, The Sun reported.

“We had hoped to find a constructive means to resolve this increasingly dangerous situation, and we are disappointed that the decisions of the protesters necessitated a law enforcement response,” JHU said in a statement.

The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office will not prosecute those who were arrested, The Sun reported.

The Maryland General Assembly approved JHU to have a private police force, separate from Baltimore, that could have up to 100 officers in April. While many public universities in Maryland had their own police forces, JHU as a private university was not allowed to have its own, according to The Sun.

The Baltimore Police Department did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.