The IU Police Department removed two individuals from a campus event featuring Indiana Representative Jim Banks and Chaya Raichik, founder of Libs of TikTok.
Two videos, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, recorded by Bryce Greene, a graduate adviser for the Palestinian Solidarity Committee at IU, show several individuals protesting by chanting, yelling and standing up in the room in the first video.
One protestor yelled, “How many kids did you kill today?”
Two other individuals can be heard telling the protesters to stop shouting and that they will be forced to leave if they continue to be disruptive.
In the second video, two protestors from the first video are being escorted by IUPD officers, appearing to be restrained with their hands behind their backs. One officer can be heard telling the people filming to leave and to stop blocking the door.
According to IUPD Public Information Officer, Hannah Skibba, IUPD officers were monitoring the public event at the IMU. During the event, she said two individuals would not stop shouting and being disruptive after being asked to stop at least three separate times.
The individuals were asked to leave and after refusing, the students were escorted out of the event, briefly detained for questioning and then released, Skibba said. She said IUPD is working with the appropriate campus offices for follow-up action regarding their conduct.
The event began at noon Monday in the IMU Oak Room and was hosted by College Republicans at IU. The organization claimed, in an Instagram Post, that despite many attempts to shut down the event, they successfully hosted the speakers. The Indiana Daily Student cannot independently confirm what attempts were made to have the event shut down.
Raichik’s social media account, known as @libsoftiktok, reposts a steady stream of TikTok videos and other social media posts, largely from LGBTQ+ people, often including incendiary framing designed to incite outrage among its majority of conservative viewers, according to a 2022 article from the Washington Post.
Chaya Raichik, Rep. Banks and College Republicans at IU have also not responded as of the publication of this article to a request for comment about the incident.
This story has been updated to include comments from the IU Police Department.
Editor's Note: Bryce Greene previously worked as an opinion columnist at the Indiana Daily Student.
