Eugene police arrested a woman Friday at the Pacifica Forum meeting on campus, while others were given citations after protesters deployed a stink bomb to disrupt the meeting.
The 22-year-old woman was arrested on an outstanding theft warrant by EPD when Department of Public Safety officers stopped the protesters as they ran out of the room after setting off a stink bomb during the meeting in Esslinger Hall. She and the other protesters who were issued citations were identified by the Black Tea Party as members of the Anarchist Black Tea Society.
The Emerald was unable to confirm how many protesters received citations on Friday. DPS spokesperson Sgt. Adam Lillengreen declined to comment, saying the report first had to be released at its scheduled time later today. Protesters who were given citations are not allowed back onto University property for 18 months.
EPD spokesperson Jenna McCulley confirmed that DPS contacted EPD when it discovered that the woman had an outstanding warrant. She is set to be arraigned at 11 a.m. after spending the weekend in the Lane County jail. However, EPD did not have any information on the citations handed out to protesters.
University student Cimmeron Gillespie witnessed the event and questioned DPS’ use of force, saying he saw DPS push a protester into a door.
“If that’s how DPS reacts to a sulfur tab, how are they going to react when a fight breaks out?” Gillespie said. “How is that a reasonable use of force? (This shows that) just because they have a University logo doesn’t make them any less likely to have a power trip and hurt somebody.”
Black Tea Society spokesperson Damage, who declined to give his legal name out of safety concerns, refused to give names of the other protesters who received citations. Damage also said he thought six Black Tea Society members were issued citations on Friday.
“The stink bomb attracts attention in a childish manner,” he said. “We wanted to use a prank to draw attention to what has become a serious threat to the community. We also wanted to demonstrate that when Nazis come to campus, we’re going to fight them.”
Damage said the Black Tea Society understands that although the Pacifica Forum members reserve the right to free speech, they, too, reserve the right to exercise free speech.
“Essentially, we’re disappointed with the University,” he said. “They’ve even gone so far as to bring DPS on campus to show that they will use excessive force against students to protect Nazis’ rights to speech on a campus that they don’t pay for.”
University spokesperson Julie Brown said the Pacifica Forum met in Esslinger instead of the off-campus Baker Center because of a scheduling conflict, the same reason the Forum returned to Agate Hall once last month after being relocated downtown.
“My understanding is that reservations are subject to availability and space,” Brown said.
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