This story was updated Friday, May 10, at 10:30 a.m.
Thirteen people were arrested at New Mexico State University’s Las Cruces campus Thursday evening after a group of protesters, angry over the death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, held a sit-in for two hours.
Approximately 12 to 16 people sat close together in the middle of the floor, chanting and singing in the main hallway of the Hadley administration building, which houses the president’s office and other executive and administrative offices. Outside, a group of supporters chanted, some drumming on the entrance doors in solidarity as campus police inside prevented access to the building.
Campus protesters had recently organized a week-long encampment on the main campus and issued a list of demands of the university’s governing board of regents, including a cease-fire resolution, disclosure of the university’s investments and divestment from institutions profiting from Israel’s military response in Gaza or affiliated with the Israeli government.
The regents did not take up a cease-fire resolution and NMSU’s interim president, Mónica Torres, informed the camp via letter on May 5 that the university had not located any investments responsive to their demands. She then requested they break camp, citing university policies and safety concerns. The camp, which consisted of more than a dozen tents on a patch of grass east of the Corbett Center student union building, cleared the area on Monday morning, May 6.
On the “Las Cruces for Palestine” Instagram account, the group responded to Torres’ letter, writing that the administration’s response was a “blatant circumvention of the needs of Palestinians and the demands of New Mexico State University students,” and stated that they would regroup: “The fight is not over, the front has changed.”
An organizer of the group told the Las Cruces Bulletin, outside Thursday's sit-in, that the action followed a meeting with administration earlier in the day that did not present progress on the group’s demands.
The sit-in proceeded at about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, as finals week neared its end, with Friday the last day of classes. Outside Hadley, students played frisbee on the lawn by the U-shaped driveway leading into campus known as "the Horseshoe." On a nearby bench, a student posed for a photograph wearing a commencement sash.
By 5:30 p.m., after business hours, Hadley Hall was occupied.
Singing songs and chanting chants, the group was slowly being surrounded by NMSU police, who were, in turn, surrounded by more protesters.
Reporters were not allowed inside the building. Officers, including NMSU PD deputy chief Justin Dunivan, told the Bulletin early during the incident that he might have allowed the media inside.
“We’re working our due diligence to try and de-escalate this situation as much as possible,” Dunivan said. “Obviously, we’re working with the group.”
Outside on the west side of the building, another group of protesters gathered. The group inside, who had broadcast much of what happened on an Instagram live stream, had called for supporters to show up and help the occupation. But those supporters were not allowed inside. The doors were locked and the police stood guard.
So, the group outside banged on the windows and repeatedly chanted “Viva! Viva! Palestina!” The banging was hard enough to shake the windows and the following morning the university said a window on the west side of the building was broken during the protest. One protester began chalking slogans on the ground calling for a cease-fire and stating, “NMSU supports genocide.”
A handful of administrators were also inside the building for at least some of the protest. Some watched what was happening elsewhere in the building via the live stream. More protesters arrived, and both the east and west ends of Hadley were crowded with people peering inside, watching their comrades as police exchanged zip-tie handcuffs and discussed their next move.
At 6 p.m., everything changed.
"That building closes for business at 5 p.m.," NMSU spokesperson Justin Bannister said in a written statement. "Over the course of an hour, the group was repeatedly asked to leave. Shortly before 6 p.m., the group was told that if they did not leave the premises, they would face arrest." Some of the protesters elected to leave upon that warning, the university said.
Word had spread among the crowd outside that police inside, outnumbered by the peaceful protesters inside 2-to-1, was going to start a mass arrest. Then they did, as the protesters outside watched helplessly but not silently: Harder and louder, the protesters banged on the doors and windows, shouting at the police inside: “You don’t keep anyone safe! … You don’t protect the students; you protect the money!” and cursing the officers.
As the protesters inside were cuffed and removed from view, a half dozen Las Cruces Police Department officers arrived along with New Mexico State Police. Two protesters locked arms, pressed against the door and argued with officers who were seeking entry, even as the shouts of others drowned them out.
Finally, more officers filed in and pulled the protesters apart, pressing against one protester's neck before whipping him around. It’s unclear if the protester was injured here, but the same individual was later taken to the hospital after collapsing. He appeared to be conscious as he was moved into an ambulance..
Over the next half hour, police began removing the arrested protesters. Some students walked while others were dragged or carried from the building. Bannister confirmed a total of 13 individuals arrested.
Doña Ana County Detention Center records indicated those arrested ranged in age from 19 to 26. Most were booked on misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and resisting or obstructing an officer. One was additionally charged with a felony count of battery on a peace officer, and another was booked on those three charges plus a felony charge of criminal damage to property.
The following morning, Torres issued a statement through a memo to the university system, saying the group of protesters included "students and others," and that an observer in a reflective vest had been permitted inside to document events as they unfolded Thursday.
In addition to a broken window, Torres said the building had been hit with graffitti overnight. Nonetheless, the building was open for business as usual, and she said commencement ceremonies would proceed as scheduled.
"Much like other universities around the country, we have seen students, faculty and community members participating in Palestinian solidarity demonstrations on our campus for the past two weeks," Torres wrote. "We have said from the beginning that people in the U.S. have a Constitutional right to protest peacefully. People do not, however, have. right to interfere with university operations, damage property, or to spit on or strike police officers."
She said university leaders had met with protesters "almost daily" since the encampment was established on April 29 to listen to their petition and de-escalate tensions.
"It's unfortunate to see the events of yesterday take place, especially during NMSU's commencement season as we celebrate the achievements of our students across the NMSU system," she continued. "For many of this year's graduates, this is their first time participating in commencement because their high school graduations were canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. These students have worked so hard, and we have worked to give them the commencement they deserve. Each of our ceremonies will take place, as scheduled, to honor our students."
