ATHENS, Ohio — More than 150 students and other protesters calling for Ohio University to become a sanctuary campus held a sit-in Wednesday night, with police arresting nearly half of them, reports say.
Demonstrators gathered in the Baker Building at 5:30 p.m., and campus police began making arrests at about 8 p.m. when students refused earlier requests to leave, 10tv.com reports.
School officials issued a statement defending the arrests although the protests were peaceful.
“Protestors were informed repeatedly that they were impacting operations, egress and creating a safety issue,” said OU spokesperson Carly Glick, according to Athens News.
The students gathered on the fourth floor of the building, where they chanted political slogans and held signs protesting the immigration ban implemented by the president last week.
Those arrested could face charges of criminal trespassing and resisting arrest.
The protest in Athens was a stark contrast to demonstrations Wednesday night at UC Berkeley in California, where protesters clashed with police, broke windows and started fires in objecting to a planned speech by right-wing writer Milo Yiannopoulos.
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