Indy Pro-Palestine Protesters Charged for Blocking Traffic
Source: WISH-TV / other
INDIANAPOLIS — Pro-Palestine protests have spread to Indiana, where last month 14 protesters blocked a street in front of the governor’s mansion. Those protesters have now been charged by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
A pro-Palestine protest gathered at Tarkington Park on the north side of Indianapolis Thursday, April 25th. The probable cause affidavit stated a woman named “Erin” talked to an Indianapolis Metro Police officer and said the group had no intention of breaking the law or taking over any streets.
A short time later, the group moved over to Meridian Street in front of the governor’s mansion and blocked traffic. Protesters locked arms while others set-up information tables, all in the middle of the street. Eventually, the protest was broken up after several warnings from IMPD, and 14 people were arrested, which included one of the organizers, Malkah Bird.
The official charge is obstructing traffic, a Class B misdemeanor.
The other 13 people charged are as follows: Payton Emberton, Jessica Phillips, Mohammad Rashid, Susan Birndorf, Taylor Parker, Ahmad Saadeh, Brittany Rood, Ahmed Elmahdi, Brandon Schaaf, Karisa Cole, Jihad Saadeh, Omar Daas, and Austin Myers.
Around the same time, a large pro-Palestine protest and encampment began at Indiana University in Bloomington.
As of this writing, that protest is still ongoing in Dunn Meadow. Indiana State Police were involved in the first few days of the protest, leading to the arrests of students, staff, and other protesters. Some of the people arrested at IU received one-year bans from campus, but that’s now being challenged in court by the ACLU of Indiana.
Many of the pro-Palestine protests that have started at college campuses across the country, including the Meridian Street protest from April, are due to the fact that protesters now want US colleges and universities to cut ties with Israel-back companies.
Protesters are also calling for an end of Israel’s military operation in Gaza and the city of Rafah, and part of the call is that the United States end all military support of Israel.
Recently, President Joe Biden said the US would not supply certain weapons to Israel if it could not promise the safety of innocent people in Rafah.
