UPDATED: ‘Louder than a dog whistle’: Milwaukee protesters clear illegal tents, face no legal consequences

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Milwaukee Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered their illegal tents and hauled them away by carts and by truck Monday night, just hours before the Tuesday morning deadline set forth in an agreement the university reached with protesters on Sunday.

As of Monday, despite breaking Wisconsin law and university policy, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee officials have said no arrests or citations were made and the cleanup will likely be billed to taxpayers.

Elected officials across Wisconsin have been critical of the university’s failure to condemn anti-Semitism and enforce state law, leaving those who broke the law without any consequences and members of the Jewish community seeking answers.

“Imagine telling my students not to do something because it’s wrong multiple times and that if they continued there would be consequences, but then never follow through with those consequences,” said Democrat State Rep. Lisa Subeck, who prior to government service worked as a pre-school teacher. “What kind of message does that send?”

“The university has sent a terrible message having allowed this to continue so long,” Subeck said.

During an interview Wednesday with Milwaukee Hillel Executive Director Joshua Herman, son of Milwaukee Attorney Gregg Herman, the younger Herman said, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee officials assured him that citations would be issued for those protesters who broke the law.

That never happened.

“Either that person lied to me or they were overruled,” Herman said.

When asked by the Wisconsin Law Journal what message the university sent students by not following through with any consequences for illegal, antisemitic behavior, Herman said, “I think the university is saying the law only applies to some groups and not others.”

Herman said dozens of students have approached him in recent weeks with a range of concerns from feeling unwelcomed on campus to fears over their own personal safety on the UWM campus.

“We have definitely had to increase security. It has been incredibly unpleasant. We had to close blinds in my office for two weeks and play music to drown out outside antisemitic chanting,” Herman said, noting Hillel was in direct view of the illegal encampments.

“Students complained that from their dorm rooms they could hear the protesters chant ‘from the river to the sea,’’” Herman said, noting “there is a general sense of exhaustion,” among the Jewish community on campus.

According to Herman, the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Police Department “has been great, but the rest of the university is incommunicative and (to date) has been unwilling to have a serious dialogue with Jewish students.”

Herman noted much of the media accurately reported the UW-Milwaukee protests were primarily “non-violent.”

However, according to Herman, that doesn’t look at the full picture.

“The rhetoric is incredibly violent. The protesters are posting things to social media that celebrate terrorism. It’s pretty scary stuff,” Herman said.

Herman also pointed out the significance of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee accepting “horrific rhetoric and adopting false narratives,” in the agreement the university reached with protesters.

“I think they (university officials) are starting to understand they got this really wrong,” Herman said.

According to Herman, the agreement was just the most recent error in judgement the university made.

“This began long before when the university invited guest speakers who made horrific antisemitic remarks and then offered no apology,” Herman said.

Milwaukee Attorney Gregg Herman said, “It’s amazing that the policy of a university of 27,000 students will be dictated by approximately 100 people who are breaking the law.  It’s even more amazing when the policy is so one sided and biased by calling for a cease fire without calling for a release of innocent hostages held by Hamas.”

Wisconsin Attorney and Democrat State Rep. Daniel Riemer agreed with Subeck and both Gregg and Josh Herman.

“I’m not saying arrest everybody there, but you don’t let people break the law to bully you into making a decision,” Riemer said Monday night, during an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Riemer noted the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UWM should be centers of intellectual debate and discussion, not threats and intimidation.

“What I’ve seen the last couple weeks was not intellectual debate, it is hatred directed mostly to Jewish people,” Riemer said.

“This is a story I thought I had outlived. I’m starting to feel something I’ve never felt before,” Riemer said, noting the chanting and threats and university’s failure to act “were louder than a dog whistle,” he said.

Several other government officials have told the Wisconsin Law Journal off the record that the reason for Sunday’s UWM agreement was twofold: First, to make the campus look better for families visiting for graduation week; and second due to the fact that the university did not have sufficient law enforcement resources to face the protesters.

When asked about this, Riemer said he was not surprised.

“It was graduation week, I understand there was a need to clear encampments and prevent shouting of violent, hateful words,” he said.

As far as a campus police shortage, Reimer said while he was not aware that was an issue, he said, “the broader conflict is full of details not reported. I would not be surprised if the university police department didn’t have enough resources.”

“I think there will always be a dynamic explored where the press and public are not present,” Riemer added.

Riemer again stated he thinks the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Madison caved to pressures of bullies.

“I think they should have said, ‘No you can’t break the law to try to get your way.’ Even if someone agrees with what the protesters are saying, that’s not how you operate in a free society with rules. The rules may be imperfect, but they allow for room to say what you want,” he said.

Subeck said although she is glad the encampments are being taken down in Madison and Milwaukee, “it should have been done long before now.”

Subeck, like several other government officials interviewed by the Wisconsin Law Journal, have expressed frustration with the agreement UWM reached with the protesters.

“The reality is that this (the hateful speech and illegal tents) should have ended, but not by caving to demands of protestors, given how egregious they are,” she said.

In Sunday’s agreement, UWM referred to the Hamas terrorists captured by Israeli soldiers as “hostages,” and ignored the fact that innocent women and children civilians were targeted in the Oct. 7 attack, Subeck said.

“At the end of the day, the university came down on the side of those who want to see any end to Israel exist, and that at its core is anti-Semitism,” Subeck said.

On Tuesday, Hillel Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, and ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) Midwest issued the following statement in response to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Chancellor Mark Mone’s “capitulation to encampment protesters:”

“University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Chancellor Mark Mone capitulated to protesters who violated UWM codes of conduct and state law, vandalized university property, and used harassment and intimidation to fuel antisemitism on campus. The agreement is among the most offensive and dangerous of any university agreement reached with encampment protesters over the last two weeks.

Chancellor Mone’s agreement with protesters comes after seven-plus months of him refusing to meet with Jewish students and failing to adequately respond to antisemitic incidents on campus since October 7. The chancellor’s statement provides no meaningful support to UWM’s Jewish community and fails to acknowledge the fear and pain Jewish community members have endured due to the actions of protesters during the encampment and before.

In contrast, Chancellor Mone gave protesters who fueled hate and violated school policies at UWM a seat at the table and even invited them to nominate individuals and faculty to serve on key university committees and working groups. The chancellor’s decision to grant immunity to individuals who mocked and broke school rules and the law sets a dangerous precedent for future incidents on campus. And, in another desperate attempt to appease the protesters, Chancellor Mone appears to have used his public university position to compel a private company to submit to demands of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

Chancellor Mone has been negligent in his duty to ensure all students feel and are safe on campus. We call on the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System to immediately negate this agreement and take the aggressive steps necessary to ensure Jewish – and all – students are able to attend UWM and all UW campuses without the threats of harassment, intimidation and hate just because of their identity.”

Subeck noted several years ago she worked with her legislative colleagues to pass a measure in the Wisconsin legislature that prevents government institutions from engaging in boycotting and divesting based on connections to Israel.

On Monday, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation issued a statement addressing the concerns over the agreement from the Milwaukee Jewish Community.

“We are hearing loudly from the Milwaukee Jewish community today, fielding dozens of calls and emails expressing anger this process was handled so badly,” the statement began. “We will be issuing a joint response later today addressing the sheer failure of campus leadership on this issue and the many ways this negotiated settlement is exclusionary, inflammatory, and materially harmful to students,” the statement noted.

University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee officials responded to the Wisconsin Law Journal on Tuesday evening and issued the following statement:

“UWM is deeply concerned by the statement made by Hillel Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, and UWM leaders are taking time to understand the concerns before responding comprehensively, which we plan to do soon. ”

The other side?

One Democrat has vocally supported the protesters.

Rep. Ryan Clancy defended the protesters and, in a statement Monday, went a step further. Clancy said the lawbreaking, Antisemitic protesters deserve an apology.

“I have never been more hopeful, both that we will see a free Palestine soon and in the capacity of these students to take on and fix the problems that our generations have saddled them with. Our community owes them both our apologies and gratitude,” Clancy said.

“… Our office is committed to working with student organizers and other stakeholders to draft and support legislation that allows divestment — as that is prohibited under 2017 Wisconsin Act 248 — and enables student demands to be fully realized,” Clancy added.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, the encampments in both Milwaukee and Madison were in violation of Wisconsin law.

The agreement noted the UWM encampment must begin to come down on May 12, and must be completely deconstructed no later than 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 14.

“Encampment violates Chapter 18 of the Wisconsin administrative code, so it is against state law,” Angelica Duria, a spokesperson for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Police, told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Saturday.

UWM Chancellor Mark Mone noted under the terms of the agreement, protesters would not disrupt upcoming graduation ceremonies.

“I’m writing to share that UWM leadership has reached an agreement with representatives of the student protesters encamped on the lawn outside of Mitchell Hall. As a result, students have started dismantling the encampment and will finish doing so by Tuesday morning. The agreement also includes assurances that those involved will not disrupt UWM’s upcoming commencement ceremonies,” Mone wrote Sunday.

“I also recognize that many have criticized UWM for not forcing the removal of the camp earlier. Indeed, the most common question asked of us involved when police would be sent in to break up the encampment. Our consistent answer: UWM leadership prioritized the safety of everyone involved, which meant seeking resolution through dialogue with our students. Today, as this agreement goes into effect and the encampment begins to come down, we are thankful there were no significant safety issues and that counterprotests remained peaceful,” Mone added Sunday.

According to a copy of Sunday’s agreement obtained by the Wisconsin Law Journal, UWM will end investments in Israeli companies or those whose products have been used in service of the Israeli military.

This story has been updated.

This story has been updated.