A day after about 10 people were arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of South Florida, organizers said they planned to protest again today — but off campus.

The protest Tuesday evening ended when law enforcement used tear gas to disperse about 100 people who had gathered.

You can catch up with all that happened Tuesday at USF, and other Florida universities, here.

Meanwhile, here’s what’s happening Wednesday.

10 a.m.

Three protesters were also arrested at USF on Monday. Simon Rowe, 23, was the first of them taken into custody.

At about 1 p.m., he started to pitch a tent when an officer walked over and stood on top of it. Rowe continued setting up the tent while the deputy waved for backup, according to video that captured the incident.

Another video shows an officer forcing Rowe’s hands behind his back before three deputies escorted him away. A crowd of protesters followed, chanting, “Shame on you” at law enforcement.

Rowe, who is charged with trespassing, said the entire incident felt like it only lasted a couple minutes.

”I didn’t put up any resistance,” said Rowe, who is now a package handler for UPS. “That’s literally like what a police officer said — that I put up little resistance.”

Tents are allowed under certain conditions on campus, but university officials warned students in a written notice Monday that they had not received the required permission in advance.

”I do not believe that the rules are valid. I don’t believe they follow the law of free speech on college campuses,” Rowe said. “It’s a violation of our rights the way they treated us that day: myself and the other protesters.”

He added the university’s rules are enforced unequally.

”Whenever there’s someone right-wing on campus bothering students it’s always ‘free speech, free speech,’” he said. “But whenever there’s someone pro-Palestinian, the same courtesy is not regarded to us.”

Rowe said he wasn’t part of the protest from the start, but joined later. It meant he never saw the notice given earlier that day.

”I was hanging around MLK Plaza, and joined once they (protesters) had reached MLK Plaza,” he said. “So I had never gotten that initial warning of arrest.”

Rowe was released from Orient Road Jail about 9 p.m. Monday to find a group of protesters gathered outside the building. He chatted with them before heading home.

Rowe, who graduated from USF in 2021, said he is barred from the university campus for a year per conditions of the trespassing charge. While it limits his involvement in ongoing protests, he plans to stick near the jail this week to help bail out others, including fellow Tampa members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Rowe said he was disappointed in his alma mater and other state university leaders.

”The rhetoric about that anti-Palestinian racism we’re seeing from boards of trustees and calling people — an entire group of people — terrorists is frankly disgusting,” he said.

— Jack Prator, Times staff

9 a.m.

The Bay Area Dream Defenders and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society announced on Wednesday morning that another protest is planned for 5:30 p.m., though it will be off-campus at the corner of 56th and Fowler Avenue.

— Divya Kumar, Times Staff

10:45 p.m. Tuesday

USF President Rhea Law and Will Weatherford, the chairperson of the USF Board of Trustees, issued a letter late Tuesday night.

Here is its full text:

Dear USF community,

The safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and all members of the university community is our highest priority.

We value free speech and protecting the constitutional right for individuals and groups on campus to gather and express themselves. This includes protests and demonstrations that we have experienced many times on our campuses without incident. Free expression is an expected and important part of the public discourse of a university, and we’re proud to say it is among the core values that define our institution. However, these activities have to remain peaceful and cannot cross a line that violates the law or USF policies. To be clear, we will not tolerate violent, disruptive or aggressive acts by protestors.

Unfortunately, as you have likely seen, a protest on our Tampa campus escalated to an unsafe level that required law enforcement to intervene. The decision to intervene was not taken lightly and was based on the following facts. Beginning this morning, approximately 75-100 protestors arrived, including some students and some individuals who are not affiliated with the university. Throughout the day, USF staff members and university police remained in regular communication with protestors about the expectations for maintaining a peaceful event, including that it would need to conclude by the close of business.

However, as the day progressed, police and university staff observed participants expressing their intent to refuse to leave the site and to occupy the space through the weekend, which includes commencement. Police and university staff also observed protesters bringing in wooden shields, umbrellas, and tents. The protesters then locked arms, raised the shields and umbrellas, and communicated their intent to refuse to leave. USF Police determined that these actions were a dangerous escalation and that the protest was no longer peaceful.

USF Police made multiple attempts to inform participants that the protest must cease and that participants needed to disperse. These warnings had no effect. When participants continued to refuse to comply, law enforcement dispersed the protestors and took numerous individuals into custody in the process. It is of great concern that one of the individuals taken into custody was found to be carrying a concealed firearm. We are deeply grateful to the USF Police Department, our regional law enforcement partners, and the Student Success team for their unwavering dedication and commitment to prioritizing the safety of our community.

The university has a responsibility to maintain a safe environment on campus, including enforcing violations of Florida law and USF policies, especially after repeated warnings. Should there be additional protests on campus this week, we expect everyone to act in a peaceful manner and in a way that allows our community to prepare for final exams and commencement without disruption.

As we always have in challenging times, it’s critical that we strive to uphold our university’s values and keep our focus on how we carry out our institutional mission. We urge everyone to do their part to ensure that USF continues to be a safe and peaceful place where we treat each other with respect and empathy, even when we disagree.

Sincerely,

Rhea F. Law

President

Will Weatherford

Chair, USF Board of Trustees

— Thomas C. Tobin, Times staff