BG On The Scene

A large ‘Free Palestine Encampment’ has been set up at UC Berkeley, with well over a hundred tents outside of Sproul Hall

Pro-Palestine protesters took over multiple buildings at Cal Poly Humboldt, occupying Nelson Hall East (seen in this video) as well as nearby Siemens Hall as part of an occupation on campus The building was cleared early Tuesday morning in a large police operation, which led to dozens of arrests

A ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ has been set up this week at MSU, with tents, banners and Palestinian flags out on campus in East Lansing

Former President Donald Trump has just been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Michigan case against defendants charged with attempting to submit a slate of pro-Trump electors following the 2020 presidential election, during testimony in court today by investigator Howard Shock

Multiple Palestinian flags have been affixed to a water tower at the shuttered Highland Park Water Treatment Plant on Dequindre in Detroit, with the words “Free Palestine” now written on the tower

An ‘Encampment for Gaza’ has just been set up this morning at the University of Michigan, with tents out as students occupy The Diag on campus The demonstration comes as a similar encampment continues at Columbia University, while an encampment at Yale was ordered to disperse Monday morning, which ultimately led to dozens of arrests. Other encampments and demonstrations of solidarity have occurred at several college campuses around the country in the past week

A pro-Palestine encampment has been set up at Yale University, where demonstrators have gathered amidst calls for Yale to divest from military weapons manufacturers Signs reading “Yale Corp Divest From War” and calling for a ceasefire are out on campus at Beinecke Plaza

Several new Palestine Avenue signs were put up in Hamtramck, following the City Council passing a resolution approving a street renaming The new signs follow the debut of the first Palestine Avenue sign in the city last month

Full video of Kyle Rittenhouse’s speech at Kent State University on Tuesday, April 16th, 2024, as well as the Q&A session that followed

Paul Prediger, formerly known as Gaige Grosskreutz, speaks at a press conference ahead of Kyle Rittenhouse’s appearance at Kent State University. Paul was one of the men shot by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin on the night of August 25th, 2020

The new Detroit sign has begun being lit up at night, following last week’s installation of the letters along I-94 ahead of Detroit hosting the 2024 NFL Draft

A mass detainment took place Monday afternoon of a pro-Palestine caravan in Detroit, with dozens of Detroit Police officers stopping vehicles along Michigan Avenue near Roosevelt Park The demonstration, dubbed ‘Car Rally for Palestine Yemen & Syria & Lebanon’, departed in the afternoon from Ford Field Park in Dearborn, then drove along Michigan Avenue into Detroit before being stopped by a large contingent of Detroit Police At least one arrest was made, with Detroit Police driving away a vehicle that had been occupied by an arrested driver and other passengers Many were ticketed, with charges including improper lane usage, pedestrian interference with traffic, and failure to use seat belt

Pro-Palestine protesters entered a Starbucks in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Sunday, during an afternoon demonstration that was organized against former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett speaking at an event organized a student group at the University of Michigan After marching through campus and SpringFest, the demonstration passed by a Starbucks along State Street, where a few protesters entered the store, chanting “Starbucks, Starbucks, you can’t hide, not ‘til we free Palestine”

A new ‘DETROIT’ sign has been installed ahead of the city hosting the 2024 NFL Draft. The sign is up along I-94 East near Proctor Street, with today’s installation coming just over two weeks before the 2024 NFL Draft in Downtown Detroit

Passengers had a unique flight today with a path-of-totality flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Detroit, one of two Delta flights today scheduled for the 2024 total solar eclipse over parts of North America Along with a similar flight from Austin to Detroit, the DFW to DTW flight DL 1010 flew into the path of totality, giving passengers a view of the eclipse from over 30,000 feet in the air Warren Weston, Manager of Meteorology at Delta, spoke onboard the DFW-DTW flight, giving insight on cloud cover in the area as the plane made its way towards totality A celebration at DTW followed the arrival of both flights, with retired astronaut Scott Kelly speaking inside the McNamara Terminal where passengers from both flights arrived at adjacent gates within minutes of each other this afternoon

Apple Store closed in Chicago amid pro-Palestinian protest Protesters entered the Apple Lincoln Park store in Chicago today, chanting “Free, free Palestine” inside in a demonstration against the tech company. A protester distributed flyers reading “Stop Exploiting DR Congo”, while a larger crowd occupied the street outside, shutting down traffic along North Avenue in front of a store entrance The store soon closed early for the day, with customers turned away at the door as a large police presence remained both inside and around the building Store personnel as well as Apple’s website both stated the store will reopen tomorrow (Sunday) morning

Funeral held today for slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, with thousands lining the road outside of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa, New York to pay their respects to the fallen officer Diller’s wife Stephanie spoke at the service, sharing memories of how the two met, their wedding day, and the happiness following the birth of their son Ryan, who is now one year old Diller was posthumously promoted to detective first grade by Police Commissioner Edward Caban at the service, which was met with a standing ovation Message displays were also out along Merrick Road in support of Diller and the NYPD

A pro-Palestine protester outside Biden’s multimillion dollar fundraiser in New York tells departing supporters “Enjoy Trump, ‘cuz we’re never voting for Biden”

Biden supporters berated by pro-Palestine protesters after leaving from Thursday night’s fundraiser in New York The fundraiser, which reportedly brought in at least $25 million, featured Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. The event was held at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, with ticket prices ranging from $225 to $500,000 Several protesters disrupted from inside the event, and a large group of pro-Palestine demonstrators was outside before, during and after the fundraiser, criticizing Biden and his supporters and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza

Chaotic scene tonight outside a multi-million-dollar Biden fundraiser in New York City, after police moved through a crowd of pro-Palestine protesters gathered across from the venue. The event, which featured Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, was met with a large protest outside from demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

Vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan speaks after RFK Jr.'s introduction of his running mate for his independent 2024 presidential bid. Shanahan is a California-based attorney, philanthropist and president of the Bia-Echo Foundation, which according to its website invests in areas of "reproductive longevity & equality, criminal justice reform and a healthy and livable planet." She also founded the legal tech firm ClearAccessIP. Shanahan married Google co-founder Sergey Brin in 2018. The two had a daughter together before divorcing in 2023. Shanahan is also a prominent donor who helped fund the Super Bowl commercial promoting RFK Jr.'s candidacy last month, giving $4 million to the American Values 2024 PAC that paid for the 30-second ad. She has previously donated to Democrats, including Ro Khanna, Marianne Williamson and Pete Buttigieg.

Chris Clem, former Yuma Sector Border Patrol chief, speaks at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s VP running mate announcement event in Oakland, California.

A man leads protesters in a pledge to not vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at a pro-Palestine rally held earlier this month in Detroit. The demonstration came shortly after a large number of voters in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary chose ‘Uncommitted’ instead of Biden, with many voicing frustration over the Biden Administration’s continued support for Israel and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Over 100,000 cast a vote for ‘Uncommitted’ in the Michigan Democratic primary, numbers large enough to win two delegates to this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. While still carrying the state overall, Biden lost to the ‘Uncommitted’ option in Dearborn and Hamtramck, both cities with large Arab American populations. The demonstration comes amidst continued opposition to Biden from pro-Palestine activists, who have protested his appearances at various cities around the U.S. in recent months, including a February trip to the southeast Michigan city of Warren.

The Chicago River has just been dyed green by the Chicago Plumbers Union, ahead of the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade today

Controlled explosions were carried out in Trenton this morning, with two smokestacks of the now-retired Trenton Channel Power Plant demolished as part of a razing of the century-old plant