Pro-Palestinian demonstrators arrested after occupying Stanford University president’s office

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied a building that houses the offices of Stanford University’s president and provost early Wednesday but law enforcement officers quickly removed them and made multiple arrests, the university said.

The takeover began near dawn on the last day of classes for the spring quarter. Some protesters barricaded themselves inside while other linked arms outside, The Stanford Daily reported. The group chanted “Palestine will be free, we will free Palestine.”

Within about two hours officers had broken into the building and began taking people into custody.

“Law enforcement has arrested 13 individuals, and the building has been cleared,” university spokesperson Dee Mostofi said in an email to The Associated Press.

“There has been extensive damage to the interior and exterior of the building,” Mostofi said. “No other campus operations have been affected at this time.”

The Stanford Daily reported that one of its reporters was among those detained.

Stanford is among colleges and universities around the country where campus protests have occurred to demand their schools separate themselves from companies advancing Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and in some cases from Israel itself.

Columbia University agreed to take additional steps to make students feel secure on campus under a settlement reached with a Jewish student Tuesday.