DENVER — Eight pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who were arrested during a demonstration at the Auraria Campus Tivoli Quad back on April 26, 2024, are now suing the Auraria Campus Police Department.
Nearly one year since being arrested, the plaintiffs in the case are arguing their first amendment rights were violated by police officers on that day.
“Last year, on April 26, I stopped by the campus to peacefully protest against the genocide in Gaza,” said Joie Ha, one of the plaintiffs in the case filed Wednesday. “I was also there to support our students, who, you know, we always say, are the future of our country, and they have also always been, historically and currently, the moral compass of our nation.”
According to the civil lawsuit filed in Denver District Court, Ha “saw messages on a Slack chat by individuals requesting help in removing the tents from Tivoli Quad.” The lawsuit goes on to say “Ha arrived at the Quad around 1:15 p.m. and immediately began assisting individuals who were already in the process of dismantling the tents. Once the tents were fully removed, Ms. Ha joined the crowd that had gathered to support the individuals sitting on the ground. Law enforcement never issued a dispersal order while Ms. Ha was at the Quad.”
The lawsuit goes further saying “around 2:00 p.m., without warning, four officers grabbed Ms. Ha and two students standing next to her, violently pulling them to the ground. Because their arms were linked, there was a struggle as law enforcement forcibly separated them. Rather than instructing Ms. Ha to stand, four officers each grabbed one of her limbs and dragged her across the ground before taking her into custody.”
Ha told Denver7 she was shocked in that moment.
“The police came in riot gear, and they aggressively began arresting everyone there, so from students to educators to community members, they did so in ways that were very brutal,” she said. “They were pulling people to the ground, kneeling on them, pulling people’s arms behind their back, and handcuffing them all for peacefully protesting. It was quite traumatizing, to say the least.”
