Pro-Palestinian Protesters Deface Veterans Memorial

Pro-Palestinian protesters who took over the office of Stanford University's president on Wednesday left "extensive damage," defacing walls with anti-Israel and anti-police slogans and vandalizing a memorial to Stanford war veterans with graffiti reading "F- AmeriKKKa."

More than a dozen demonstrators were arrested after they barricaded themselves in the office of university president Richard Saller.

"They vowed to 'remain inside the building and are refusing to leave until their demands are met,'" the group said in a statement on Wednesday, protesting what they described as the university's refusal to negotiate with a campus encampment that demanded the university divest from companies tied to Israel.

Protesters painted "Our office now" on a window and chanted, "Palestine will be free, we will free Palestine," as reported by the Stanford Daily. Approximately 50 students, most dressed in black with their faces wrapped in kaffiyehs, linked arms and surrounded the building in solidarity with the occupying students.

The university's historic main quad was spray-painted with slogans including "DE@TH 2 ISR@HELL," "Kill cops," and "PIGS TASTE BEST DEAD," according to images of the vandalism circulating on social media.

The protesters intended to remain inside the building until their demands were met, but police cleared the demonstration within three hours. One police officer was taken out of the building by stretcher, according to onlookers.

Stanford spokesperson Dee Mostofi said the protesters had left "extensive damage" to the interior and exterior of Building 10, which houses the president's office and other administrative facilities.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office assisted the Stanford Department of Public Safety in clearing the building. According to student reporters, sheriff deputies forced their way into the president's office, using a crowbar to gain entry where students had barricaded themselves inside.

The protesters are demanding that the school divest from any companies "that provide material and logistical support to Israel's current military campaign." They claim their demands have been ignored by the administration.

"Students have tried repeatedly to engage the administration," a statement from the group read.

There were divisions evident among different protest groups. The Liberate Stanford organizers condemned some activists in a statement, accusing them of unilaterally deciding to spray paint and vandalize the buildings.

"These are not the principles we abide by and these actions are disrespectful to the souls of the Palestinians who passed in their just struggle," Liberate Stanford wrote.

The occupation comes after months of protests and negotiations between Stanford officials and pro-Palestinian activists. It is part of a series of nationwide demonstrations that began at Columbia University in New York City two months ago, with students demanding their universities divest from companies with links to Israel over its war in Gaza.

That war followed a deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7 of last year, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has since killed more than 30,000 people, according to figures from the Hamas-run local health ministry.

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