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Ten protestors at an anti-Israel protest at the University of South Florida were arrested, including one 39-year-old man who had brought a firearm to the protest, according to police.
Atah Othman, 39, is charged with trespassing on property, unlawful assembly,resisting an officer, and possession of a firearm on school property.
The arrests came after dozens of agitators gathered near Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza on the Tampa campus for a demonstration that quickly got out of control. Several arrests had taken place in the same location on Monday.
The school said that after 5pm, the protest would no longer be considered lawful. When protestors, on Tuesday, failed to disperse by that time, police arrived with tear gas to break up the group before making arrests.
Othman was released on bond just after midnight on Wednesday.
Protestors at the University of South Florida saw their Gaza Solidarity Encampment broken up Tuesday evening
Some of the protestors held up wooden shields and umbrellas when police with tear gas arrived to disrupt the demonstration
Atah Kheir Othman, 39, was arrested Tuesday at the USF campus and charged with felony possession of a firearm on a campus, among other things
The campus anti-Israel protest was organized by the Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society group. It attracted some 100 protestors, some of whom were not enrolled at the university.
According to a local NBC report, some protestors lined up holding umbrellas and wooden shields as police moved in to clear them out.
Eventually, law enforcement authorities used tear gas to break up the crowd.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released a statement Tuesday: 'After repeatedly ignoring several dispersal commands while assisting the University of South Florida Police Department with an unsanctioned protest, #teamHCSO used tactical skills to evacuate agitators.'
