Campus Alert Archive
UW-Madison

Skateboards and State Troopers: 34 Arrested as UWPD Dismantles Library Mall Encampment in 2 Hours -- Protesters Rebuild It by Noon

WIcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

At approximately 7:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, nearly 60 University of Wisconsin-Madison police and partner law enforcement officers moved into the Gaza solidarity encampment on Library Mall and removed tents, arresting 34 people -- including four taken to the Dane County Jail for resisting arrest and battery to a police officer after a state trooper was struck on the head with a skateboard. The operation cleared Library Mall within two hours, but protesters had established a new encampment on the same site by noon the same day. A negotiated settlement on May 10 led to a voluntary dispersal ahead of commencement ceremonies.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
5
Institution
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public R1 · WI
WiscAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction303 chars
[UW-Madison issued a campus advisory informing the community that law enforcement was removing tents and conducting arrests at the Gaza solidarity encampment on Library Mall. Community members were advised to avoid the Library Mall area and follow officer instructions. Campus operations remained open.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

WiscAlert is UW-Madison's mass emergency notification system, routing via SMS, email, and the university's emergency website; the Library Mall advisory was issued through university email rather than the full WiscAlert broadcast, consistent with the university's tiered notification protocol
Library Mall is UW-Madison's outdoor pedestrian hub adjacent to Memorial Library and the Memorial Union, running along State Street -- the principal gathering space for campus protests
Officers issued one final warning at approximately 7:15 AM CDT before moving in to remove tents; the warning stated arrests would follow if protesters confronted or interfered with officers
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction510 chars
[UW-Madison confirmed that 34 people had been arrested during the removal of the Library Mall encampment. Most were released without citations. Four individuals were taken to the Dane County Jail on charges of resisting arrest and battery to a police officer. The Library Mall was clear of tents by 9:00 AM. Three Dane County Sheriff's deputies and one state trooper sustained injuries during the operation, including one trooper who was struck on the head with a skateboard. Two protesters were also injured.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The skateboard strike on a state trooper's head was the most serious injury documented during the operation; the trooper and three Dane County deputies also sustained injuries
Two protesters were reported injured, per the ACLU of Wisconsin, which was monitoring the operation and filed objections to the enforcement approach
Most of the 34 arrestees were released without citations -- consistent with the approach taken by several peer institutions that treated encampment arrests as trespass detentions rather than full criminal prosecutions
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstruction422 chars
[UW-Madison announced that campus leaders and student representatives from Students for Justice in Palestine had reached a resolution. Protesters agreed to clear the encampment voluntarily, not disrupt commencement ceremonies or other campus functions, and not reestablish an encampment on campus. The university committed to discuss certain academic matters with student representatives in a structured dialogue process.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The May 10 agreement was reached under Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin after nine days of renewed encampment following the May 1 clearance; the agreement did not include any investment or divestment commitments
Protesters rebuilt the Library Mall encampment within hours of the May 1 clearance -- a dynamic that UW-Madison's outcome more closely resembled the UW-Madison model than the full-suppression approach used at Columbia, USC, or Indiana University
The encampment ran from approximately April 29 through May 10, 2024 -- a total of about 11 days, with a brief gap on May 1 between the clearance and the rebuild
Context

Background

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Gaza solidarity encampment began on April 29, 2024, with students setting up tents on Library Mall adjacent to Memorial Library. On the morning of May 1, nearly 60 law enforcement officers from UWPD, the Dane County Sheriff's Office, the Madison Police Department, and Wisconsin State Patrol gathered at Library Mall and, after approximately 15 minutes of dispersal warnings, moved in at around 7:15 AM CDT to remove tents. Thirty-four people were arrested; most were released without citations, but four were jailed for resisting arrest and battery after a state trooper was struck with a skateboard. Three Dane County deputies and the trooper sustained injuries; the ACLU of Wisconsin reported two protester injuries. The operation cleared Library Mall by 9:00 AM -- but within hours, protesters had rebuilt the encampment and it was larger than before. The speed of the rebuild made UW-Madison's enforcement a widely cited example of the limits of police encampment clearances without a negotiated settlement. On May 10, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin's administration reached a negotiated agreement with Students for Justice in Palestine -- the encampment disbanded voluntarily, protesters agreed not to disrupt commencement, and the university committed to a structured dialogue on academic matters. No investment or divestment commitments were made. The outcome was frequently compared to similar negotiated resolutions at Rutgers, Northwestern, and Brown.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Police remove Gaza encampment at UW-Madison, make multiple arrests (PBS Wisconsin)
    pbswisconsin.org
  2. News
    After police remove tents, make arrests, protesters at UW-Madison rebuild encampment (Wisconsin Public Radio)
    wpr.org
  3. News
    Police dismantle UW-Madison anti-war encampment protests, but tents return (Wisconsin Examiner)
    wisconsinexaminer.com
  4. News
    UW-Madison encampment to clear after agreement reached (WEAU)
    weau.com
  5. Student Paper
    Day three: Police remove encampment on Library Mall, but protesters remain (Badger Herald)
    badgerherald.com
Tags
civil-unrestgaza-encampmentlibrary-mallwisCalertuwpdarrestsskateboard-assaultnegotiated-settlementcampus-protestwisconsinpublic-r1
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion