DENVER — Auraria Campus Police cited 12 more protesters Tuesday for trespassing, interference and disturbing the peace – these arrests come after campus police arrested 10 protesters Monday for the same reasons.
Before Tuesday’s arrests, Auraria Campus spokesperson Devra Ashby said it appeared more than half the people arrested or ticketed since the protest started in April appear not to be students.
“More than half of the individuals protesting on our campus are believed to have no direct connection with our campus, and are using escalating tactics in playbooks that we have seen play out on campuses across the country,” Ashby said.
9NEWS has records from MSU Denver and CU Denver, which make up about 75% of students at Auraria. Of the first 45 people arrested on April 26, only 13 were students.
Some students have been cited more than once, including Ollie Kampert, who was arrested for the second time on Tuesday.
“Well, I have already been detained before,” Kampert said. “I have gotten a different ticket a few days ago, so we kind of know the deal for what happens for these sit-ins now. So everyone who stays at the sit-ins is aware of the legal repercussions. So anyone who does not want to stay in the sit-in is welcome to exit at any point, and the students who stay, understand the consequences.”
Tuesday’s campus lockdown started just before 5 p.m. Protesters admitted to bringing tents inside the Tivoli Student Union.
“There were two tents,” Kampert said. “That was just to call attention to our sit-in and kind of bring a piece of the encampment inside. And just to remind them we are not going anywhere.”
The lockdown was lifted around 6:20 p.m. The Tivioli Student Union remained closed for the night and is expected to open as normal on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Auraria Campus explained its plans to manage the protesters moving forward.
“We have worked with our state partners to put out support requests through Denver Police Department, through the State Patrol, as well as our state Office of Emergency Management,” Ashby said. “And through the state Office of Emergency Management, other police entities, such as the Morrison Police Department, have responded to just support us with patrols as well as additional support.”
Campus officials also explained sanitation concerns related to the encampment on Tuesday.
“Parents of students, and staff, have submitted complaints to campus administrators with pictures of feces near and around their vehicles parked near the quad,” Ashby said.
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