The Advance’s FOIA request for information surrounding the arrests of UMW students and others surfaced 16 pages of responsive records that the governor’s office will not turn over.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office is withholding in full 16 pages of records responsive to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, citing the exemption provided for “working papers and correspondence of the Office of the Governor.”
The request was for correspondence between the University of Mary Washington, the Governor’s Office and the Virginia State Police that occurred between April 25 and the April 27th arrest of 12 individuals—including nine students—who were participating in a pro-Palestinian encampment on the university campus.
The arrests—on charges of trespassing—were carried out by UMW police, but Virginia State and Fredericksburg City police were also present.
The Advance made the same FOIA request of both UMW and the Governor’s Office, seeking information about who asked for state police presence and who ordered the arrests.
The university is also withholding all responsive records—10 total emails—citing exemptions provided for “papers, records, documents, reports, materials, databases, or other evidence or information relative to criminal intelligence or any terrorism investigation in the possession of the Virginia Fusion Intelligence Center.”
UMW also cited the exemption provided for the Governor’s working papers, but according to Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, the university cannot claim that exemption on behalf of another entity.
“It’s not up to [UMW] to assert the exemption on behalf of someone else,” Rhyne said in an email to the Advance earlier this month. “The university can only use its own exemptions.”
According to an Instagram post made by the UMW chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, the students intended to host a solidarity camp sit-in for Gaza from April 26 through May 4. They reserved Jefferson Square for that purpose and “spoke to university officials before setting up, making them aware of their intentions.”
The students were calling on UMW administration to “disclose all endowments and investments and divest from corporations and institutions which contribute to Israel’s apartheid and genocidal regime.”
The encampment began on Friday, April 26. Students took down their tents that evening at the request of university officials, but re-staked them on Saturday morning, which was chilly and rainy.
UMW police began arresting participants around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 27.
Following the arrests, UMW president Troy Paino said in a statement that “health and safety concerns began to emerge from the event as well as increased concerns for campus community members, as outside influence was further invited to campus to grow the encampment.”
Youngkin appeared CNN’s “State of the Nation” on Sunday, April 28, and stated that he had “been working with our Attorney General Jason Miyares, our university presidents, [and] law enforcement at the state, local, and campus level to make sure that if there are protests, they are peaceful.”
“We’re not going to have encampments and tents put up,” Youngkin said.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held at a number of Virginia colleges and universities in the past several weeks.
Students participating in these demonstrations were arrested at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech, in addition to UMW.
by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
