March For Our Lives Statement on the Repression of Peaceful Student Protests 

NEW YORK, NY — “Students have a fundamental and sacred right to free expression and peaceful protest. The stunning escalation on college campuses where students’ peaceful protests in solidarity with Gaza have been met with incredible violence is appalling. This violent escalation puts students’ lives in danger, something that colleges and universities purport to lift up as their core concern. Images from Atlanta of officers firing chemical irritants and violently tackling students and faculty; heavily armed police officers on college rooftops in Indiana; unprovoked attacks by police in Austin; and countless other instances of violence against students lay bare the danger students are in. Suggestions of mobilizing the National Guard against students echo the deadly violence at Kent State. We must be clear: this armed suppression of one’s right to peaceful protest is risking students’ lives. We condemn these attacks on students and condemn this fundamental assault on democracy. We are calling on our leaders to respect students’ fundamental rights to free expression. Stop this violent attack on students!”

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