In Pictures: Protests and Arrests During Biden’s Trinity Visit
Words and Images: Lorenzo Cheasty
Three people were arrested following confrontations between protesters and Gardaí during a demonstration against former U.S. President Joe Biden, during his visit to Trinity College Dublin on Tuesday, November 10.
The visit was arranged by Trinity’s Historical Society (the Hist), which awarded Hunter Biden (the former U.S. President’s son), its Gold Medal for “Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse”. The Hist cited his “recent advocacy on the state of American politics and media as well as for matters of addiction and recovery”. In a statement released the following afternoon, the Hist clarified that Joe Biden had accompanied his son and that they were informed of his attendance at relatively short notice.
The protest was organised by members of the Student Neutrality Front, a pro-Palestinian and anti-imperialist student collective. Demonstrators began assembling following an announcement made at 3pm by the TCD Workers’ Party and the Student Neutrality Front (SNF) calling for an emergency protest. Members of the Workers’ Party, SNF and Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union made statements addressing the gathering.
The demonstration grew throughout the afternoon, with over a hundred students congregating near the Exam Hall, with chants from the demonstration being heard inside the ceremony.
Confrontations escalated following Biden’s emergence from the event into Front Square shortly after 4pm. His presence was met with chants of “blood on your hands” from the protesters, who congregated around the steps of the nearby 1937 Reading Room.
Two protesters were detained and arrested after moving towards Biden’s entourage, as objects were thrown towards the departing vehicles. Footage of the incident shows Gardaí bringing the individuals to the ground, with one officer repeatedly striking a detainee with a baton.
Miranda, a second-year English and Philosophy student and member of Trinity’s Socialist Republican Society, was among the first demonstrators to arrive. She said that the protest was organised in opposition to Biden’s role in American support for Israel during the war in Gaza.
Describing the arrests, Miranda said: “I witnessed the first man arrested hit his head and chin badly on the pavement”, adding that she saw blood on the ground. She further alleged that Gardaí continued using batons and pepper spray after the individual had been incapacitated.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, in a statement released the following afternoon, stated that they were “extremely concerned” by the video footage which showed Gardaí kneeling on a protester’s necks and repeatedly striking them with a baton to their neck and shoulder area.
The Gardaí escorted the two individuals outside to the main road via the Arts Block exit. A third person was also later arrested by the Gardaí following a confrontation.
In a statement provided to District, the Student Neutrality Front (SNF) condemned what it described as a “heavy-handed response” by Gardaí against demonstrators. The group alleged that a third person arrested was a secondary school student who had been “shoved against a wall, dragged across Front Square and stuffed into an awaiting police van”. SNF further claimed that journalists documenting the arrest were threatened with pepper spray and arrest, while protesters challenging Garda actions were pushed to the ground.
Following the arrests, demonstrators gathered in front of Garda Public Order Unit vehicles on campus as officers were escorting the third detainee. Further footage recorded during the demonstration shows Gardaí physically removing the protesters who had positioned themselves in front of the vehicles. During one recorded exchange, a Garda pushed back the photographer reporting this story while he was filming.
In a joint statement, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union and Aontas Na Mac Léinn (AMLÉ) said that they were “appalled by the scenes witnessed at Trinity” and that the Garda response raised “serious questions as to the policing of peaceful protests on our college campuses”.
Gardaí have confirmed that three men were arrested in connection with a public order incident at the university. One man in his 50s has since been charged and is due to appear before the courts.
