BERKELEY, Calif. — Police took 17 students into custody during a demonstration at the University of California at Berkeley on March 2. The students, who were protesting budget cuts to public education, refused to leave a university building that had been shut down for the night.
At 9:30 p.m., officers from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and campus police alerted protesters that Wheeler Hall would soon be closing and those inside should leave voluntarily or risk arrest, KTVU.com reports. When the officers entered the building at closing time, 17 students were sitting a circle with linked arms. Those students were taken into custody for trespassing. Several resisted officers’ orders.
The protestors were transported to Alameda County Jail. Fourteen were cited and released; another three remained in custody until today, when a court hearing was scheduled.