The police cleared the tent camp close by the Maria Montessori in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. The clearing happened on order of mayor Hubert Bruls. The police had been on campus earlier following the occupation of the Thomas van Aquinostraat 1.

‘This is the police. You have five minutes to clear the tents and leave,’ rang from a megaphone, right before midnight. The riot police had surrounded the encampment next to the Maria Montessori building in large numbers only moments before. The police stated that they would use force if protesters did not comply. Officers were standing by with shields and sticks.

The clearing happened on order of mayor Hubert Bruls, announced the police via megaphone. Activists are hastily breaking off tents and leaving the terrain.

Passed deadline

It looks like the clearing, in contrast to the clearing of the Erasmus building last week, will happen without a physical interference of the police. Protesters chant slogans including ‘Radboud schande’, but do seemingly not prepare for a confrontation.

It is, however, not clear whether that actually happened during the night. The riot police are sending Vox reporters away right before the deadline – fifteen minutes have passed since – expires. According to the Gelderlander, no one was arrested.

Tents that were left behind can be picked up from the city’s police station on Monday, according to the police.

Building occupied

Earlier today, protesters had spent hours occupying the Thomas van Aquinostraat 1, right next to the encampment. The building was thereby considerably smeared with red paint and graffiti. Additionally, barricades were set up with chairs and other furniture and firehoses turned on.

Around 22:00, police officers had done a room-by-room search through the building, after activists had left it on their own earlier. The building has been emptied in the meantime. “The police found an apparently abandoned building with complete havoc inside,” wrote the University in a statement on its website.

In a post on X, formally Twitter, Radboud University writes that the Thomas van Aquinostraat 1 will remain closed on Thursday and Friday. All other buildings on campus are open.