Former President Trump weighed in on Monday about the anti-Israel demonstrations that are roiling U.S. college and university campuses.
While the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee is not due in the courtroom on Monday, he spent his morning on Truth Social weighing in on his trial. His posts also included a post about the students who are protesting Israel’s war with Hamas, the terror group that governs Gaza.
“Stop the protests now!!!” Trump said in an all-caps post.
The post comes as the number of students and antisemitic agitators arrested at the nationwide demonstrations approached 900 since New York police removed an anti-Israel protest encampment at Columbia University on April 18.
Former President Trump weighed in on Monday about the anti-Israel demonstrations that continue at Columbia University and other U.S. colleges and universities. (Jeenah Moon-Pool/Getty Images)
The students are protesting the rising death toll in Gaza amid Israel’s effort to eradicate Hamas, which carried out the deadliest attack in the country’s history on Oct. 7, 2023. The subsequent war has resulted in over 34,000 deaths, mostly civilian women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, though that data could not be verified.
The anti-Israel groups are calling on their respective colleges and universities to end any investments in companies that support Israel’s military and their actions in Gaza. Students have remained on campus despite several schools demanding they cease their encampments.
Campus police at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, arrested several students during an anti-Israeli demonstration on Sunday night and into Monday morning. (Reuters)
Trump’s comment on Monday morning came amid other posts about “Crooked Joe Biden,” who he called the “worst president in the history of the United States.” Trump also addressed the various lawsuits he is facing, which the Republican candidate described as “election interference.”
TRUMP, DESANTIS MEET PRIVATELY FOR SEVERAL HOURS IN MIAMI
Hundreds of protesters were arrested at various college campuses across the U.S. on Saturday, Sunday and into Monday morning as the disruptive demonstrations continued over the weekend.
About 275 people were arrested on Saturday at Indiana University at Bloomington, Arizona State University and others.
Dozens of Northeastern University students were removed and arrested at the tent encampment on campus in Boston on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via AP)
Police in riot gear arrested approximately 102 students at an encampment on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston on Saturday.
Also on Saturday, police removed masked protesters and arrested more than 100 people at Washington University in St. Louis, including students and university employees.
Anti-Israel student protesters continue demonstrations during the second week of the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Columbia University in New York, on April 27, 2024. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Late Sunday and into Monday morning, campus police at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, physically carried some protesters from an encampment and arrested them.
The nationwide campus protests have surged since students at Columbia University, widely seen as the epicenter of the current protests, formed an encampment by pitching tents at the heart of campus. They have vowed to stay put until the university divests from Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.