Fact check on statements from IU, ISP: Snipers, external participants, free speech

After pro-Palestinian protesters were shoved with riot shields, handcuffed with zip ties and detained by state police Thursday and Saturday on the Indiana University Bloomington campus, dozens of people were arrested for refusing to take down tents erected in Dunn Meadow.

The Herald-Times fact checked some the statements from Indiana State Police and Indiana University representatives relating to protests on the Bloomington campus and the police response.

Does the First Amendment allow hate speech?

During an interview with an Indianapolis television news reporter, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said: “The First Amendment covers free speech, but not hateful speech.”

That statement is untrue.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1791, states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

U.S. Supreme Court rulings through the years uphold the notion government can’t limit what a person says because of their viewpoint.

From a 1972 free speech case: “The freedoms of speech, press, petition and assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment must be accorded to the ideas we hate or sooner or later they will be denied to the ideas we cherish.”

There are three instances where hate speech doesn’t have First Amendment Protection: when the words lead to imminent lawless action, threaten serious injury to someone or cause an immediate threat to peace.

Indiana State Rep. Matt Pierce, a lawyer and Democrat who represents Bloomington, issued a statement on Saturday calling the university’s actions a betrayal to more than half a century of supporting student protesters. “It’s clear this alleged policy change was directly targeted at a specific protest with speech the university wished to suppress.”

Were there snipers on top of the Indiana Memorial Union?

Yes. ISP officers armed with rifles were in place on the roofs of campus buildings during the Gaza War protests in Dunn Meadow.

During a Monday interview on Indianapolis radio station WIBC’s Tony Katz Show, Carter confirmed what some protesters reported seeing.

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The ISP head said armed officers were present in case “some of them (the protesters) that have been radicalized” might have set out to cause widespread harm “and the only way to have dealt with that would have been from above.”

When asked on Friday about the presence of snipers, Bloomington ISP spokesman Sgt. Kevin Getz said ISP personnel “were assigned to the roof to assist with observing Dunn Meadow.”

Has anyone arrested actually been charged?

Not yet. Fifty-six people – 33 on Thursday and 23 on Saturday - were arrested and taken to jail on preliminary charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. Will the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office file the misdemeanor charges formally in court?

Maybe.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Kehr said no decisions on whether to file criminal charges have yet been made. “We are in the process of obtaining all of the reports and relevant recordings. We will examine everything that we receive to determine what, if any, charges are appropriate.”

Monday, Bloomington city council members sent a letter to IU officials denouncing the police presence and actions in Dunn Meadow.

“We demand that no criminal action be brought against peaceful protesters,” the letter said.

Were any injuries reported during the protests?

ISP Superintendent Carter said several ISP troopers sustained injuries, some while attempting to clear tents from Dunn Meadow. He said an officer was bitten.

One protester was charged with battery. An Indianapolis man was booked into the Monroe County Jail at 7:03 Thursday night on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement, criminal trespass and battery as a felony for allegedly causing an unidentified injury to an ISP trooper. That charge also is under review by the prosecutor.

Was the Bloomington Police Department involved?

No. In the aftermath of the recent Dunn Meadow protests, Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson said she had instructed city police officers to stand down.

“The Bloomington Police Department has had no involvement in policing the protests, no involvement in the dismantling of the encampment, has made no arrests related to the protests and has my instruction not to be involved in these activities,” she said.

Capt. Ryan Pedigo, a spokesman for the department, confirmed the extent of BPD involvement was to erect barriers to close several city streets and direct traffic around the Dunn Meadow area.

Were there 'external participants' in the IU protests?

A few. Last Thursday, IU president Pamela Whitten and Provost Rahul Shrivastav said they requested ISP presence as a "law enforcement partner" because they expected a "high number of external participants."

That didn’t pan out. Police arrested 33 protesters Thursday; all but three had Bloomington addresses.

On Saturday came another 23 protest-related arrests. Of those, just three weren’t Bloomington residents.

Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.