Pro-Palestine Encampment Turned Home for the Displaced Swept in Duluth, Journalist Arrested

Duluth, MN — Pro-Palestine activists and residents of the Duluth Palestine Solidarity Camp were swept on August 7, 2024. They assembled a tent encampment on May 1, 2024, in response to the Duluth City Council voting against a cease-fire resolution 5-4. Organizers are calling for the city of Duluth to pass the resolution and divest from supporting Israel. The Minnesota State Board of Investment has about $116 million invested in Israel, according to Governor Tim Walz’ (DFL) office.

After several months of the Palestine solidarity encampment at Duluth City Hall, the centrally located area evolved into a well-resourced and supported location for vulnerable homeless adults. The encampment became a space for harm reduction for the unhoused. Some of the services provided by grassroots efforts included getting people cell phones, jobs, and sanitation.

A community support network organically blossomed during the three months of transition from protest camp to homeless encampment, without any funding or help from organizations. According to the Duluth Police Department, the encampment was “a public health and safety hazard.”

On the contrary, the community helped provide a safer environment where Narcan, water, food, and other essentials were provided. The space was kept clean and had a composting toilet system for human waste. The city induced the most prominent health hazards by refusing to provide waste disposal services and turning off the water fountain near the encampment.

The encampment outside city hall proved to be one of the best options for single mothers, elders with dementia, and others with mental and physical disabilities who had nowhere else to go. Trained street medics, cooks, and neighbors would frequently check-in and provide firewood, meals, and potentially life-saving access to Narcan and first aid supplies.

Eight Duluth-based organizations came up with a five-year plan for supportive housing in 2022. The $33 million program aims to provide affordable housing, increase shelter capacity, and even provide a space for sanctioned homeless encampments with hygiene facilities and trash receptacles. Frustrated by the lack of progress Duluthians have started forming grassroots efforts to deal with the increasingly visible needs of the community.

On July 29 and July 30, 2024, the City Council held a hearing to pass an ordinance that made camping on city property illegal with a maximum fine of $200. The community showed up and packed the courthouse. After seven hours of deliberation, the amendment was passed just after midnight. Later that morning, an eviction notice was posted that the camp would be swept seven days after the hearing. The next day, the notice disappeared. City officials never came to tell residents what the process would be for the eviction and it was up to community members to inform the unhoused residents of the encampment. The lack of communication with the city inhibited quality information which amplified confusion as differing rumors began to arise regarding the future of the encampment.

Residents at the Duluth Palestine Solidarity Camp

Duluth Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj talking to residents at the camp

The following Tuesday, July 6, 2024, the fire chief, law enforcement, and other city workers came at 7:00 a.m. to engage with people at the encampment. They brought trucks to fill and stated they were just “here to help clean up.” The city officials eventually left and the people at the encampment expressed confusion about the next steps. Since people were not pushed off city property that day, some of the residents considered the possibility that they had much more time to pack up camp as many of the residents were vulnerable or disabled and didn’t have anywhere else to go. There was an air of hope that night for some residents of the camp while others prepared for law enforcement to sweep the camp at 7:00 a.m. The city announced the final clear-out that night, but it was on Facebook and the radio, formats many in the camp lack access to.

The next morning the camp was completely swept by 8:00 a.m. Many of the residents were not able to get their belongings out in time. One senior citizen who lived at City Hall said he woke up to the police kicking him out of his tent and he wasn’t able to retrieve his phone. Two separate arrests were made during the evictions for obstruction of legal process after officers told everyone to exit the grassy area because of “public safety.” A journalist was one of the two arrested at around 8:00 a.m. They were taken into custody and held for 12 hours at the St. Louis County Jail.

Lonnie Moore, a self-proclaimed “fixture of the camp,” who was a part of the early stages, said the encampment filled him “with a sense of hope and a sense of joy seeing this sort of activism take place in a town I didn’t know.”

As the focus of the space turned towards the housing crisis and the city passed new public safety ordinances, Moore said “We can see that they blatantly ignored us.”

One of the camp residents, John Evens, said they “are not quite sure what we’re going to do” and pointed out the city turned off their source of hydration from the water fountain. Activists say the actions by authorities at the City Hall violate their constitutional rights.

With the Star of David tattooed on his hand and a Free Palestine pin on his hat, Moore told Unicorn Riot that it was “honorable to [his] heritage” to be there “in support of both Palestine and the homeless encampment.” He said his grandmother was a Jewish concentration camp survivor and had heard stories of how his family had “been run out of our land.”

“It hurts to see the things that my people have suffered, be suffered by other people, especially when a flag flying the sign of my people is the one committing these acts.” – Lonnie Moore

The war in Gaza has seen significant casualties since the beginning of the conflict last October when Palestinian fighters entered Israel. As of August 13, an estimated 39,965 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, more than 92,294 injured, and more than 10,000 missing. In the occupied West Bank at least 624 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,400 injured. In Israel 1,139 have been killed and 8,730 injured.

After an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school compound housing displaced families, which killed around 100 people on August 10, 2024, Hamas has requested that mediators implement previously discussed plans rather than initiating new negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, casting doubt on its involvement in a scheduled meeting on August 15, according to reports.

The truce plan is based on President Joe Biden’s May 31 ceasefire proposal, the framework outlined by mediators from Qatar and Egypt on May 6, and UN Security Council Resolution 27351. This proposal includes the release of Israeli captives in Gaza and an unspecified number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Leaders from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar had urged Israel and Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage release deal, with Israel agreeing to participate. However, Hamas expressed concerns, accusing Israel of not being committed to peace, citing recent actions including the alleged assassination of its leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Recently, Iran has threatened a retaliatory strike on Israel if negotiation talks with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza collapse. In a joint statement from France, Germany and the U.K. on Tuesday, they asked Iran and its allies to refrain from retaliation: “We call on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions…” Iran has rejected their call, saying it’s an “excessive request.” Hamas says they will not participate in ceasefire talks but may meet mediators afterward.