Montreal police (SPVM) used tear gas to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters at McGill university after they barricaded themselves in the administration building as part of a “global call to action.”
The Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill said that they entered the James Administration Building “demanding McGill cut ties with genocide.”
Police in riot gear confronted the crowd outside of the building and fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowd shortly after 7 p.m.
The crowd reformed shortly after and began using shelves and other items to build a barricade between themselves and police.
Police then used tear gas and pepper spray about 40 minutes later and the crowd dispersed.
Montreal police respond to a protest at McGill University on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Kelly Greig/CTV News)
The group leading the occupation said that the university has “repressed every institutional channel through which they expressed the student will for a policy against genocide.”
The protesters at McGill have called for the university to divest of financial holdings in companies linked to Israel’s war with Hamas.
The SPHR listed Lockheed Martin, Elbit Systems, and Thales as examples of companies they want McGill to divest from and boycott.
SPHR McGill spokesperson Rama Al-Malah told CTV News that the group is not preventing anyone from leaving the building and that there has been no confrontation with security.
She said initially there were around 50 to 60 protesters taking part and they have called for more to join them.
Police remained on the campus and the crowd reformed outside of the Roddick Gates on Sherbrooke Street.
A police spokesperson said that as of 8:30 p.m. officers remained in the James building speaking to protesters, who refused to leave, and that arrests may follow.
Pro-Palestinian supporters gather at McGill University on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Kelly Greig/CTV News)