DENVER (KDVR) — Pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Denver were given an ultimatum on Tuesday: Voluntarily pack up their encampment by 9 p.m. or the university will take action.

A letter to the university community from Chancellor Jeremy Haefner said officials had a “productive” two-hour meeting with protesters on Tuesday and told them DU would require the camp to close. The chancellor said DU is offering “support” to the protesters, but if people refuse to leave, the university “will determine appropriate action to disband the camp.”

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Haefner said the move comes as university leaders have “become increasingly concerned about the safety of our campus community,” including for those in the protest encampment.

“As shared previously, in addition to ongoing policy violations regarding DU ID checks for safety, there has been a sharp increase in reports of discriminatory and harassing behavior from individuals both inside and outside the encampment,” Haefner wrote. “In addition, the false emergency call which diverted away important safety resources while vandalism occurred forced an urgent re-evaluation of the encampment as a form of safe free expression.”

On Monday, university officials said a weekend act of vandalism — which included red paint thrown on a university building and words spray-painted on the brick walkway outside it — happened when someone made a fake emergency call as a “distraction,” claiming someone had been shot.

Since May 9, DU has been the site of a protest encampment in defense of the Palestinian people in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting Hamas since its Oct. 7 attack against Israel. The demonstration has also brought forth counterprotests by DU’s Jewish student community.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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