Police have arrested at least 68 people as they dismantled an encampment set up by students from Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, ABC7 reports.

Dozens of arrests were carried out on the grounds of the institute on Saturday afternoon, just hours after a small pro-Palestinian encampment was set up in the museum’s north garden, the Chicago Police Department said.

At least 68 people were charged with criminal trespass to property, the report quoted the police as saying.

In addition to the encampment, several dozen protesters demonstrated on the sidewalks near the Art Institute at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street, where for a while police simply observed as a combination of students and activists railed against the US government’s aid to Israel.

This is the first time the Chicago Police Department has executed this level of arrests since the beginning of the pro-Palestinian encampments, ABC7 stated.

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