RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — For the first time since pro-Palestinian protestors and police clashed on college campuses across Virginia, we are hearing from Governor Glenn Youngkin.
“I fully support the actions that have been taken,” Youngkin said when speaking about the police response to protestors.
Youngkin said that a combination of outside agitators and students not following campus policies caused serious safety concerns, leading to police response.
“Follow the rules and be peaceful, that’s fine. But when you cross the line and you begin to build encampments, which are not allowed on college campuses, you intimidate other students,” said Youngkin. “You’re trying to disrupt the normal operations of the schools, that will not be allowed.”
Youngkin’s comments come as some Democratic lawmakers criticize the police’s response to students expressing their First Amendment rights.
“The police presence there, it’s sort of agitating a lot of the protestors and the people that are around it to create violence,” State Senator Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax) told 8News.
Salim said most of the protestors in Virginia have been peaceful and schools should do a better job ensuring students can express their beliefs.
“Give them a space where they can protest in a way that makes sense for the universities, that makes sense for the universities [and] for the people involved, so we don’t create additional violence,” Salim said.
Youngkin didn’t say what role, if any, he played in breaking up the protests. However, he did say all police responses to pro-Palestinian protests in Virginia have been “deeply coordinated.”
