This story is developing and will continue to be updated.
Pro-Palestinian activists attempted to occupy Fisher-Bennett Hall at 34th and Walnut streets on Friday evening and were met with an immediate response from Penn and Philadelphia police officers, who arrested nineteen individuals — seven of whom are Penn students.
The attempted takeover of the academic building — during which protesters appear to have tried to use wooden pallets, wire, and overturned furniture to blockade at least three entrances of the building — comes one week after the University cleared the Gaza Solidarity Encampment from College Green. The escalation also comes just as Commencement ceremonies are beginning on campus, with hundreds of alumni, graduates, and families present for reunions, festivities, and other alumni events.
Although it was not immediately clear how many individuals took part in the protest, nineteen individuals, including seven Penn students, were taken into police custody, according to a statement from a University spokesperson. Protesters were then taken to the Philadelphia Police headquarters at 400 N. Broad St. in Center City, where "twelve were issued citations for failure to disperse and failure to follow police commands and later released. Seven remain in custody awaiting felony charges, including one for assaulting a police officer," according to the statement.
Following the initial clearing of the building by police, protesters gathered for a rally on 34th Street before marching towards the Penn Museum, where Franklin Fest, an Alumni Weekend event, was taking place. The event was evacuated, and multiple UPennAlerts were issued over the course of the protest as it spilled out onto the streets.
“Earlier this evening, a group of individuals entered Fisher-Bennett Hall on Penn’s campus and attempted to occupy it,” a University spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Penn Police, with support from Philadelphia Police, escorted them out and secured the building, taking several individuals into custody. The situation remains active."
Fisher-Bennett houses multiple academic departments, including Cinema and Media Studies, English, and Music.
The occupation — which began after 8 p.m. Friday — was announced in an Instagram post by Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine, calling for members of the Penn and Philadelphia communities to bring "flags, pots, pans, noise makers," and megaphones. The protesters renamed Fisher-Bennett to "Refaat Alareer Hall," after a Palestinian poet who was killed in Gaza in December 2023.
A statement on PAO's Instagram said the occupation was the result of a "series of escalations by the Penn administration," including a refusal to negotiate in "good faith," citing arrests by Penn Police and disciplinary action taken by the University.
PAO added that protesters' demands remained the same — including calling for the divestment of assets affiliated with Israel, the disclosure of Penn's investments, and the defense of Palestinian students and their supporters, including amnesty for those who have been disciplined or arrested.
Several entrances to Fisher-Bennett were blocked with makeshift barricades made out of furniture, wood, and construction barricades. One of the barricades read “FREE PALESTINE,” and a box of barbed wire was found adjacent to another entrance. A bag of water bottles was also visible, as were several chairs that appeared to have been moved in an attempt to block off the southern entrance to the building from the inside.
"Upon clearing the building, Penn Police recovered lock-picking tools and homemade metal shields fashioned from oil drums," the University statement read. "The exit doors had been secured with zip-ties, barbed wire, and barricaded with metal chairs and desks, and the windows were covered over with newspaper and cardboard. Bike racks and metal chairs were also found blocking outside entrances. Penn remains focused on maintaining the safety and security of our campus."
Police officers cleared the building shortly after the attempted occupation started. In a video posted to the PAO Instagram page, several Philadelphia Police officers forcefully removed six protesters from Fisher-Bennett, with one protester falling to the ground after being forced out.
The protesters resisted removal and yelled expletives at officers. After the protesters were removed, several officers began to exit the building before the video ended.
Several other individuals were detained by police once they had been removed from the building. Several protesters chanted, including, “There is only one solution, intifada revolution.”
On 34th Street, police continued to push and arrest multiple protesters as Emergency Response Team units were activated in response to demonstrations that had expanded out onto streets near campus, blocking traffic, according to the Philadelphia Police scanner. Cops held riot shields and clubs, forming a barricade and pushing protesters south and out of the street. One police officer remarked that they "could not wait" to arrest individuals.
The police-protester face-off ended as protesters marched down 34th Street towards Spruce Street. Police remained in a line blocking off Walnut Street, with others remaining inside Fisher-Bennett collecting evidence as of around 11:15 p.m.
During a moment of silence following the protester-police confrontation, all of the protesters began to back up with their arms locked and march away from the police around 10:15 p.m. Several police followed, but those with riot shields did not.
Protesters proceeded to stop in front of the Penn Museum gates, where the Alumni Weekend event Franklin Fest was being held.
“We brought you all here because this is the alumni party,” an organizer shouted. “Do you all know that Penn’s hands are red?”
Although the event was slated to run until 11 p.m., the venue was cleared out by 10:45 p.m. while Penn Police officers in riot gear guarded the entrance. Several alumni expressed frustration while exiting the event, as at least one other made a peace sign through the entrance gates to the Penn Museum.
A sign outside the Penn Museum gates read “RESIST” and included a drawing of an upside-down triangle symbol. This shape — which is normally colored in red — has previously been documented in use for a number of notable purposes as a societal symbol, including by the pro-Palestinian movement as a representation of solidarity with Palestinians, by the military wing of Hamas to identify targets, and by the Nazis to identify political prisoners.
In an email to alumni weekend attendees obtained by the DP, Senior Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations Hoopes Wampler acknowledged the protests.
“We are continuing to monitor the situation and will inform you via email should there be any changes to tomorrow’s schedule of reunion activities,” Wampler wrote. “We anticipate protests in the city at various points in the day and ask you to be alert to the potential for unexpected disruptions."
Hours after the attempted encampment began, an alarm could be heard inside Fisher-Bennett as Penn Police officers were stationed outside the door. One officer could be heard talking about evidence bags as they performed a sweep of the building.
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