American paraphernalia and a Trump 2020 flag met a sea of pro-Palestinian protesters Tuesday night as the crowd from Charlie Kirk’s “Live Free Tour” talk came up against metal barricades at the east entrance to the Popular University for Gaza liberated zone in the Quad.
The two-and-a-half-hour-long standoff at the east entrance to the Quad marked the first significant counterprotester encounter that the liberated zone has been forced to navigate since its inception May 1. It ended with no significant violence or interpersonal alterations observed by members of The Daily’s staff.
The counterprotester crowd began to form just after 6:30 p.m. on the opposing side of the barricades set up by the university at the east entrance.
The barricades were set up at the Quad’s five entrances as a preemptive safety measure by the university at approximately 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning. According to university spokesperson Victor Balta, the university opted to bring in barricades in an effort to keep people safe in light of the “multiple events on campus today and this evening that could draw attendees with strongly opposing viewpoints.”
Pro-Palestine protesters create a barricade in between Smith Hall and Miller Hall on the University of Washington Seattle campus on May 7, 2024.
Organizers and participants in the liberated zone have repeatedly demanded no police presence in the area. After Milo Yiannopoulos’ visit to campus in 2017, which resulted in one man being shot on Red Square, the university planned to bring in additional law enforcement officers prior to the establishment of the liberated zone.
“[Despite asking the university for no police presence] the university provided us with barricades and with police force and we just don’t think that is going to do an adequate job of keeping us safe,” Gina Liu, graduate student at UW and media liaison for the United Front for Palestinian Liberation (United Front) said Tuesday afternoon in advance of Kirk’s talk.
The liberated zone’s volunteer-based safety team, marked with neon green tape, has been operating within and along the perimeter of the area since the zone’s establishment. Prepared to protect Popular University’s mantra of “we keep us safe,” individuals with helmets, gas goggles, riot shields, and other personal protection devices were seen in the buildup to Tuesday afternoon.
Several hundred people chanted within the zone’s barrier as Kirk’s speech commenced at the HUB. The crowd grew by approximately 300 when a group of people participating in a 5:30 p.m. rally for Rafah, hosted at the UW light rail station marched up. They carried a scroll with the names of all the Palestinian children killed since Oct. 7.
Pro-Palestinian protestors hold a list of children's names in the "Popular University for Gaza" liberated zone on the University of Washington Quad on May 7, 2024.
Pro-Palestine protesters inside the Popular University reinforced the borders of the zone using their bodies, designating groups of 15-30 people to stand on the interior side of each barrier as the chants in the main group, located in the center of the Quad, continued.
Event organizers began turning away people in line to see Kirk just after 6:30 p.m. when the event, which took place in the HUB Ballroom, reached its capacity of 1,002. At the same time, a pro-Palestine crowd of around 100 gathered against the east barricade.
A blocker stands behind a barricade on May. 8, 2024.
The crowds of both sides increased as more people left Kirk’s speech, reaching a peak just after 8:30 p.m. when Kirk took his last question of the night.
The human barrier blocking access for any counterprotester grew steadily as the depth of the opposing side increased. Deploying umbrellas, trash cans split in half, and a homemade shield alongside at least 40 bodies, the steps leading up to the Quad from the HUB were sealed.
A blocker stands behind a barricade on May. 8, 2024.
The standoff saw two-and-a-half hours of chants, eggs thrown at the counterprotesters from the Pro-Palestine side, Christian worship music played on a speaker, and a Trump 2020 flag.
Met with chants of “U.S.A., U.S.A.,” the pro-Palestine side downed out the noise with their chants and eventually saw the crowd progressively thin out until only five to 10 people remained at 9:53 p.m.
“I think it was a great show of solidarity,” Claire Valley, media liaison from the United Front said just after 10 p.m. as the liberated zone quieted down for the evening. “People showed up after hearing that Charlie Kirk was going to be on campus and they showed up to protect our students and our liberation zone. They showed up to support Rafah today as it is under attack as the last safe zone, so I think people are really encouraged to protest right now.”
Revisiting the mantra of “we keep us safe” after managing to uphold the community guideline of not engaging with counterprotesters, Cera Hassinan pointed to the liberated zone’s training sessions and emphasis on de-escalation as a contributing factor to the evening’s success.
“We’ve continually emphasized ‘we keep us safe’ … we have solidarity as we all saw with the masses of people that we protecting one another,” Hassinan said.
Protesters went to sleep in their tents as usual Tuesday evening with minimal disruptions in the later hours of the evening. Barricades were removed by the university this morning around 8 a.m.
Reach News Editor Sofia Schwarzwalder at news@dailyuw.com. X: @schwaarzy
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