Demonstration and counter-demonstration activity relating to Israel and Palestine continued over the past 24 hours. Students at Washington University in St. Louis, MO held a walkout, and students at Columbia University in New York held a large demonstration. Students at Auraria Campus in Denver, Colorado also walked out of classes and were met with counter demonstrators, although only verbal altercations were reported. A group of students at The Cooper Union Students in New York were locked inside the library by staff due to safety concerns during a demonstration outside. The New York Police Department reports that 233 people have been arrested over the past 17 days during demonstrations relating to Israel and Palestine. Additional demonstrations are scheduled through this week, and the amount and size of demonstrations appear to be slightly increasing as the weekend approaches. Arrests, road closures, and clashes between demonstrators, counter-demonstrators, and police remain likely.
MSA Intel will continue to monitor the situation and provide relevant updates.
October 26, 2023
- Fresno, CA – 12:00 p.m. – Rep. Jim Costa’s Office at 2440 Tulare Street
- Houston, TX – 5:30 p.m. - Rice University Central Quad
- Manhattan, NY – 5:30 p.m. – New York Stock Exchange
October 27, 2023
- Baltimore, MD – 6:00 p.m. – Baltimore City Hall
- Chicago, Il – 8:45 a.m. – Heritage Green Park
- Denton, TX – 3:00 p.m. - Denton Courthouse-on-the-Square
- Nashville, TN – 12:00 p.m. - Legislative Plaza on 6th Ave N near State Capitol Building
- Watsonville, CA – 5:00 p.m.– City Plaza on Main Street
October 28, 2023
- Brainerd, MN – 1:00 p.m. – Intersection of Sixth and Washington Streets
- Minneapolis, MN – 1:00 p.m. – Lake Street and Minnehaha
- Portland, OR – 2:00 p.pm – Lownsdale Square
- Roseburg, OR – 2:00 p.m. - Fred Meyers on Harvard
October 29, 2023
- Austin, TX – 3:00 p.m. - Texas Capitol
- Colorado Springs, CO – 2:00 p.m. - CO Springs City Hall, 107 N Nevada Ave
- Denver, CO – 2:00 p.m. - State Capitol West Steps 200 E Colfax Ave
- Worcester, MA – 3:30 p.m. – Worcester City Hall
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Avoid protest locations and large public gatherings, when possible.
- Expect traffic disruptions throughout the area to continue until the demonstrations have concluded.
- Do not engage with demonstators as this could escalate the situation.
- Follow all directions from authorities and law enforcement.
- Monitor local news for reports of demonstrations or other disruptions
- Monitoring social media or online forums and acting upon credible threats and trends will allow security details and site managers to adequately prepare to deter any threats.
- Have a proactive plan in place to deter criminal activity while protecting employees and assets. Considerations include:
- Procuring additional security assets to augment existing teams.
- Conducting security system tests to ensure all systems are fully operational.
- Creating an evacuation plan in the event of widespread civil unrest or other events that could jeopardize safety.
- Reviewing key control and all emergency protocols with members of the organization.
- Reviewing cyber best practices (ensuring systems have the most current updates, compatible devices use multi-factor authentication, etc.) with members across the organization.
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