{
  "id": "2024-10-21-university-of-minnesota-morrill-hall-occupation",
  "slug": "university-of-minnesota-morrill-hall-occupation-2024-10-21",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Minnesota Twin Cities",
    "shortName": "U of M",
    "state": "MN",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "SAFE-U"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-10-21",
    "type": "civil-unrest",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Protesters barricaded the administration building; 11 buildings locked, 11 arrests",
    "headlinePublic": "Protesters barricaded the administration building; 11 buildings locked, 11 arrests",
    "summary": "On the afternoon of October 21, 2024, [Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota occupied and barricaded Morrill Hall](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/10/21/pro-palestinian-protesters-occupy-univeristy-minnesota-building) -- the university's principal administration building and the location of the president's office -- renaming it 'Halimy Hall' in commemoration of Gazan student activist Medo Halimy. Shortly after 5:00 PM CDT, [the university issued a SAFE-U alert locking 11 nearby campus buildings](https://mndaily.com/top-story/three-non-students-arrested-for-morrill-hall-occupation/10/22/2024/) due to protest activity. Two hours later, UMPD officers and Hennepin County Sheriff's deputies used a battering ram to break through interior barricades and forcibly remove the protesters. [Eleven people were arrested on charges including property damage, trespassing, and rioting](https://www.campusreform.org/article/11-arrested-pro-bds-occupation-barricade-university-minnesota-administrative-building/26606); eight enrolled students received indefinite interim suspensions.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-10-21T16:39:31-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "U of M Twin Cities: Protestors have entered Morrill Hall on the East Bank, causing property damage and restricting entrance and exit from the building. If you are currently in Morrill Hall and able to safely exit the building, please do so immediately. Others are advised to avoid this area until further notice. Updates and safety tips at: http://z.umn.edu/alerts",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/safe-u-emergency-21",
      "sourceDescription": "UMN SAFE-U Emergency (official)",
      "annotations": [
        "SAFE-U is the University of Minnesota's emergency mass-notification system, distributing alerts via SMS, email, the UMN emergency website, and the GopherAlert app; issued at approximately 4:40 PM CDT on October 21, 2024",
        "Morrill Hall is the University of Minnesota's central administration building on the East Bank of the Minneapolis campus, housing the president's and provost's offices; it was the site of a historic 1969 student occupation protesting the Vietnam War",
        "The alert was issued after protesters marched from a rally at Coffman Union to Morrill Hall and began spraying paint on interior surfaces and covering security camera lenses"
      ],
      "characterCount": 364
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 7:00 PM CDT on October 21, 2024, after UMPD cleared Morrill Hall and all protesters were removed",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "U of M Twin Cities :UMPD has cleared Morrill Hall and the situation has been resolved for this evening. You can find more information about this situation at https://z.umn.edu/Statement10212024.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "UMN SAFE-U Emergency (official)",
      "annotations": [
        "UMPD officers, along with the Minneapolis Police Department and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, forcibly entered Morrill Hall through connecting tunnels using a battering ram to break through interior barricades protesters had constructed",
        "Eight of the 11 people arrested were University of Minnesota students; all eight received indefinite interim suspension orders barring them from classes, dormitories, dining facilities, and campus employment"
      ],
      "characterCount": 194,
      "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/safe-u-emergency-20",
      "timestamp": "2024-10-21T21:10:06-05:00"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-10-22T17:06:20-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "SAFE-U Twin Cities: The following buildings are locked until further notice due to protest activity. Occupants are free to exit the buildings at any time. Coffman Union, Weisman Museum, Hasselmo Hall, Ford Hall, Vincent Murphy Hall, Tate Lab, Morrill Hall, Northrop Auditorium, Johnston Hall, Walter Library, Smith Hall, and Kolthoff Hall. All other East Bank campus buildings will be on U Card access only.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/alerts?page=6",
      "sourceDescription": "UMN SAFE-U alerts archive listing (page 6; full SAFE-U body visible)",
      "characterCount": 407,
      "annotations": [
        "Next-day building lockdown list after Morrill Hall occupation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-10-22T18:20:55-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "SAFE-U Twin Cities: As a follow up to the SAFE U sent earlier this evening, most buildings on the Northrop Mall have reopened. Morrill Hall and Coffman Union will remain closed.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/alerts?page=6",
      "sourceDescription": "UMN SAFE-U alerts archive listing (page 6; full SAFE-U body visible)",
      "characterCount": 177,
      "annotations": [
        "Partial reopen; Morrill Hall and Coffman Union remained closed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "UMN Safety Notifications — Morrill Hall / Northrop Mall SAFE-U",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/alerts?page=6",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after occupying U of M building (MPR News)",
      "url": "https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/10/21/pro-palestinian-protesters-occupy-univeristy-minnesota-building",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Three non-students arrested for Morrill Hall occupation (Minnesota Daily)",
      "url": "https://mndaily.com/top-story/three-non-students-arrested-for-morrill-hall-occupation/10/22/2024/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "11 arrested in pro-BDS occupation, barricade of University of Minnesota administrative building (Campus Reform)",
      "url": "https://www.campusreform.org/article/11-arrested-pro-bds-occupation-barricade-university-minnesota-administrative-building/26606",
      "type": "national-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Protesters barricade University of Minnesota Morrill Hall (KARE 11)",
      "url": "https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/u-of-m-morrill-hall-after-protest/89-cf32a435-f15d-41d9-a149-0be36db1339f",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Anti-Israel protesters arrested after occupying University of Minnesota building (Times of Israel)",
      "url": "https://www.timesofisrael.com/anti-israel-protesters-arrested-after-occupying-university-of-minnesota-building/",
      "type": "national-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Morrill Hall Takeover 'Endangered Safety,' U President Says (TC Jewfolk)",
      "url": "https://tcjewfolk.com/2024/10/22/morrill-hall-takeover-endangered-safety-u-president-says/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "11 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at University of Minnesota (ABC News)",
      "url": "https://abcnews.go.com/US/11-arrests-pro-palestine-protestors-university-minnesota/story?id=115012036",
      "type": "national-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UMN SAFE-U Emergency (official)",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/safe-u-emergency-21",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "UMN SAFE-U Emergency (official)",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/safe-u-emergency-20",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "context": "The October 21, 2024 occupation of Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota was the most dramatic campus-building occupation in the Twin Cities since the 1969 Vietnam War protests in the same building. Organized by the University of Minnesota chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, protesters [marched from a rally at Coffman Union and entered Morrill Hall around 4:00 PM CDT](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/10/21/pro-palestinian-protesters-occupy-univeristy-minnesota-building), demanding that the university divest from defense contractors that supply Israel. Inside, protesters spray-painted slogans, covered the lenses of interior security cameras, broke interior windows, and barricaded the building's entrance and exit points. They renamed the building 'Halimy Hall,' after 19-year-old Medo Halimy, a university student in Gaza who had documented daily life in wartime and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis in August 2024. Shortly after 5:00 PM CDT, [SAFE-U issued an alert identifying the property damage and restriction of building access](https://mndaily.com/top-story/three-non-students-arrested-for-morrill-hall-occupation/10/22/2024/), followed by a second alert locking 11 nearby East Bank buildings. Two hours into the occupation, [UMPD officers used a battering ram to break through interior barricades](https://mndaily.com/top-story/three-non-students-arrested-for-morrill-hall-occupation/10/22/2024/) and removed the protesters. Eleven were arrested -- eight students and three alumni. The eight students received indefinite interim suspensions that barred them from all campus functions. President Rebecca Cunningham stated the takeover 'endangered safety' and could not be permitted.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "civil-unrest",
    "building-occupation",
    "morrill-hall",
    "safe-u",
    "umpd",
    "battering-ram",
    "interim-suspension",
    "halimy-hall",
    "campus-protest",
    "minnesota",
    "minneapolis",
    "public-r1"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}