Students at the University of Maine held a Pro-Palestinian protest on Friday despite threats from President Donald Trump this week targeting universities that allow "illegal" protests. Activists on the campus in Orono say they expanded the scope of their rally to speak out against the threats.
The crowd, which included student and community activists, carried signs and Palestinian flags outside UMaine's Fogler Library and called on the UMaine Board of Trustees to divest financially from Israel.
The demonstration comes just days after Trump posted on Truth Social that all funding will stop for any college, school or university that allows "illegal protests," and that "Agitators will be imprisoned or permanently sent back to the country from which they came." American students, he added, will be permamently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. He also emphasized that protestors shouldn't wear masks that conceal their identity at public events.
Talia Cullum, president of the UMaine chapter of Jewish Voices for Peace, says the UMaine protest was planned months ago and there was no discussion of canceling it.
"We believe we need to set an example that vague threats will not force us into compliance. And we hope by setting this example, university administrators will follow our lead," Cullum says.
Cullum says there were preparations to ensure all those attending the protest were safe. Student marshals were brought in to deescalate any potential situations with counter protestors. She says international students were encouraged to use extreme caution and to wear a mask and other protective equipment.
Community organizer Gracie Gebel says they believe Trump's threats actually drew more attention to the event.
"This is the largest group we've had I would say, and it is awesome to see this much support, but this is also the first time you've ever had counter protesters," Gebel says.
Gebel says a half dozen people stood nearby with Israeli flags, but didn't directly engage the pro-Palestine protesters.
University of Maine System spokesperson Samantha Warren says the free speech of students will be protected.
"We will continue to be unequivocal in protecting and promoting that constitutional right, which I would note also includes the right to free expression and free assembly," Warren says.
Olivia Keeney is one of the Bowdoin College students temporarily suspended after a pro-Palestine encampment on the Brunswick campus last month. She says the president's threats are an attempt to undermine free speech.
"He expects universities to not only follow but to lead in creating this sort of vision of America that Trump wants by making their communities a place where free speech, including protests for Palestine will not be tolerated," Keeney says.
Carol Garvan, legal director at the ACLU of Maine, says protest is a constitutionally protected form of speech and efforts to suppress it reflect a broader agenda aimed at stifling dissent.
The Trump administration announced today that it has canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University in New York, the site of a high-profile pro-Palestine encampment last spring, citing what it describes as the school's failure to protect Jewish students from harassment.
