McGill, Quebec politicians denounce ‘unacceptable’ vandalism on campus

McGill University and Quebec politicians are denouncing how a group of demonstrators tore up parts of the university’s lawn during a pro-Palestinian protest on Friday.

In videos circulating online, protesters can be seen ripping up the freshly laid sod installed where a pro-Palestinian encampment had been erected on campus.

The Montreal police were called to intervene and a criminal investigation is underway.

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“Vandalism is not a legitimate expression of one’s free speech rights and McGill condemns such acts,” a university spokesperson wrote in an email response Monday.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante echoed the university’s position in a post on X, saying destroying property is not a form of protest.

“Intimidation, violence and vandalism have no place in our city and will not be tolerated,” Plante wrote on Monday.

The vandalism also drew the attention of Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel and Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry, who both described it as “unacceptable.”

“Such acts of vandalism are unacceptable and must be denounced,” Bonnardel wrote on X. “We all have an obligation to do so.”

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Short videos of the incident show protesters tearing up the lawn as others chant and wave Palestinian flags in the background.

In an email response, McGill said the vandalism came at the end of a protest last Friday. Campus security alerted the police once it started.

“(Police) responded approximately five minutes after the vandalism began and caused the protesters to disperse quickly,” the university said. The school’s groundskeeping team repaired the lawn.

“McGill will continue to support freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” the university added, “as long as such freedoms are exercised within the boundaries of the law and the university’s policies.”

A spokesperson for the Montreal police said the protest started downtown around 1 p.m. and made its way onto the university’s campus by 3 p.m., at which point demonstrators started removing the sod and planting Palestinian flags.

Police spoke with campus security before deciding to move in, said SPVM spokesperson Mariane Allaire Morin.

The protesters left the area without confronting the officers, Allaire Morin added, but the university decided to file a complaint over the vandalism.

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“There have been no arrests as of now but an investigation has been launched, because there was damage done to the sod,” she said. “The investigation is ongoing.”

The pro-Palestinian encampment was in place on the university’s lower field from late April to July 10. McGill hired a private security firm to dismantle it, arguing the encampment presented serious security issues.

The portion of the downtown campus where the encampment had stood was closed off for most of the summer as the university worked to decontaminate the soil and replace the grass.

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