In the almost two hours between when pro-Palestinian protesters were detained Thursday afternoon at Dunn Meadow and their arrival at the Monroe County Jail, more than 13 uniformed officers waited outside in confusion. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department officers, along with family members and friends of those arrested, faced the same question: where were the 33 arrested protesters and when would they be arriving?
Those 33 people — including 20 students and at least two IU faculty members — were booked into the Monroe County Jail Thursday after the Dunn Meadow protest. Indiana State Police and Indiana University Police Department officers arrested protesters during an hours-long protest and encampment. Protesters were arrested on charges of criminal trespassing, battery and resisting law enforcement, according to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Department arrest report.
Protesters arrested at Dunn Meadow were transported to Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse on an IU campus bus by the “arresting agencies” before arriving at the jail, according to Monroe County Sheriff’s Department officers. Monroe County Sherriff’s Department officers were waiting outside the jail for the IU bus for more than an hour and twenty minutes after they were arrested, from 4:45 until 6:08 p.m. They said they didn’t know when the arrestees would arrive, and they weren’t in charge of the arrestees before they arrived to be booked.
Friends and families came by looking for arrested protesters before they’d been booked. One woman said her friend and his fiancé were pushed by police at the protest. When they pushed back, she said, the police took them both to the ground and zip tied them. When she asked officers outside the jail where her friends were and when they would be released, the officers responded that it was up to the arresting agency. The officers instructed the woman to come back in one or two hours.
Another student, who came to the jail looking for his friend, said he was scared to walk on campus now, even without a protest in process.
Friends and family members of Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at Dunn Meadow watch as the protesters are escorted into the Monroe County Jail on April 25, 2024, on Seventh Street. Officers prohibited members of the public from entering the side street where they were escorting demonstrators off the bus.
A group of supporters gathered outside the jail, bringing pizza for when protesters were released. Protester and IU graduate student Zara Anwarzai, who was not arrested, showed scratches on her hands she said were caused by police, and she alleged other people were bruised and beaten. The protest got violent within a minute, Anwarzai said. She said once police started pushing people back, the protest only lasted 20 to 30 more minutes before all arrests were made and police began leaving the scene.
The first bus full of protesters, along with IUPD and more ISP officers, arrived at 6:08 p.m. at the jail. The protesters banged on the bus from the inside and chanted “free, free Palestine.”
Zip-tied protesters were escorted off the bus one by one. An officer individually photographed each protester with a smartphone outside the bus with pieces of paper showing their names and dates of birth held in front of them. Officers removed protesters’ masks and sunglasses so they could be photographed.
One protester got off the bus, hands zip-tied behind his back and wearing an orange keffiyeh, a traditional headdress fashioned from cloth worn in parts of the Middle East, around his shoulders.
“We will not be intimidated by fascism,” he said. “All we do, we do for Gaza!” As the police took his photo, he kept calling out. “All eyes on Gaza. All eyes on Gaza.”
Some of the protesters yelled to their friends and family, who were prohibited from entering the side street where officers were escorting demonstrators off the bus and into the jail. They instead watched from afar. Inside the facility, the protesters, with their hands still zip-tied, were instructed to sit on the ground. Reporters for the IDS heard those inside yell “don’t touch her.” When reporters went to look, a gate leading to the facility which was previously open had been closed, cutting off view of those detained.
A protester with their hands zip-tied sits underneath a mural reading "Hope" overlaying a mountain scene April 25, 2024 at the Monroe County Jail in Bloomington. Monroe County Sheriff's Department officers said most arrestees would be released on recognizance.
A second IU campus bus carrying protesters arrived at 6:52 p.m. While protesters on the first bus had their hands zip-tied behind their backs, many of the protesters on the second bus were handcuffed. Three were photographed outside the bus, and the rest were immediately led inside.
Police at the time said most arrestees would be released on recognizance. This means their paperwork will be processed and they’ll be let go on the promise that they’ll do what the court instructs.
