Overview
- Former president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden made a surprise visit to Trinity College Dublin on Tuesday to watch their son Hunter receive the College Historical Society’s Gold Medal.
- Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered on campus and, as the Bidens left, some people moved forward and threw objects including white liquid believed to be milk while chanting slogans such as “Genocide Joe” and “blood on your hands.”
- Irish police intervened with public order units to escort the family away and detained multiple people during scuffles that video shows included an officer using a baton and campus reporters saying pepper spray was used on protesters.
- Authorities later said three adult males were arrested in connection with the public-order incident and that one man in his 50s has been charged while the other two were released without charge, a detail that updated and conflicted with earlier on-scene reports of two arrests.
- The clash highlights strong pro-Palestinian sentiment on Irish campuses and raises questions about policing of student protests as observers note the broader context of criticism of U.S. policy on Gaza and the Bidens’ public profile during Joe Biden’s ongoing cancer treatment and Hunter Biden’s recent pardon.