The ISU7, 7 pro-Palestinian student protesters arrested last May, are headed to federal court after filing a restraining order against Illinois State University.
As previously reported, on May 3rd, 2024, Pro-Palestinian peace activists were protesting outside Illinois State University President Andover Tarhule’s office on the fourth floor of Hovey Hall. Activists have been calling for the University to divulge & divest in all companies that profit off of apartheid Israel. The protest was part of a series of actions organized by Peace for Palestine ISU (formerly Students for Justice in Palestine ISU). These actions included an encampment on the ISU Quad similar to other pro-Palestine encampments on Universities across the nation.
Students had been occupying the building the entire day. Students were told two times by ISU’s Safety Demonstration Team (SDT) that failure to leave the building by 6PM would result in arrest & suspension. The Safety Demonstration Team warned students again after 6PM. Students were warned a fourth time by Dean of Students Andy Morgan and a fifth time by ISU Chief of Police Aaron Woodruff.
Students chose to stay in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. All universities in Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli forces.
After their final refusal to leave, Chief Woodruff called in Normal Police Department and Bloomington Police Department officers to arrest the seven peace activists. They were arrested and charged with one count of Criminal Trespass to State Land (a Class A Misdemeanor) and Criminal Trespass to Building (a Class B Misdemeanor).
The ISU7 were also placed on an interim suspension pending university disciplinary proceedings. They were banned from all ISU property and unable to participate in classes or take finals, including virtual classes (though the grad students who were teaching classes were still expected to interact with their students and grade papers). One student who lived in the dorms was kicked out rendering him temporarily homeless. The students also lost a semesters worth of grades.
At the same time, the ISU7 filed a civil lawsuit against the university arguing the university violated their first amendment rights to free speech and protests. The lawsuit further argues the Dean Andy Morgan is a Zionist (someone who believes in a settler-colonial Jewish ethno-state in the Levant called Israel), and he has discriminated against the ISU7 because of their pro-Palestinian views.
According to new court documents filed by the ISU7’s attorney, Sheryl Weikal, the protesters disciplinary proceedings took place during June 2024. Weikal has agreed to represent the ISU7 pro bono in their criminal, civil, and University disciplinary proceedings. As punishment for occupying Hovey Hall after closing, the University placed all seven students on disciplinary probation, and they are required to write an essay on how to properly protest at the University.
On July 9th, 2024, the students were given the following statement outlining their punishment through the University:
This punishment was handed down while the ISU7 are still in the midst of criminal charges filed by the McLean County State’s Attorney on behalf of the University. In response to the disciplinary punishment, the ISU7 filed a restraining order against the University seeking to at the very least pause the punishment against them. Weikal argues by compelling students to write an essay on how to appropriately protest on University grounds, the University is compelling speech which could be used against them in court. This would violate the students’ 1st Amendment right to free speech and their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.
“In particular, this second sanction amounts to compelled speech and is a further violation to Plaintiff’s First Amendment rights. Further, it is specifically designed by defendants to force Plaintiffs to waive their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, because Defendants are also the complaining witnesses in the ongoing criminal cases against Plaintiffs. In short, to punish Plaintiffs for the content of their speech being Pro-Palestine, DEFENDANTS are requiring Plaintiffs to generate speech which could then be used against them in criminal proceedings begun by the same Defendants. This is a blatant violation of Plaintiff’s 1st and fifth amendment rights.”
In response to the restraining order, the Attorney General’s office took over the civil case on behalf of ISU’s Board of Trustees. The civil case has been escalated to Federal Court and proceed from there.
