Court officials release details of UNC protest arrests. Here’s what they allege.

Six people arrested this week at UNC-Chapel Hill’s pro-Palestinian encampment face more charges than the university has publicly said.

In news releases, the university said 36 people were accused of trespassing. That did not explain why 30 were cited on campus and released, while six more were arrested and taken to the Orange County jail in Hillsborough, where they were charged by magistrates and then released.

UNC officials still have not provided the names of those charged and why some were arrested when campus police, supported by officers from other UNC system universities, shut down the four-day encampment at Polk Place.

Arrest reports, which help in the reporting of the ongoing protests, are public records under state law and are typically available within hours of someone being arrested.

“UNC Police is processing the arrest/incident reports and will release those when they are complete,” a spokesperson told The News & Observer in an email Wednesday evening.

What are the protest charges?

Court officials on Thursday gave The N&O the names of all 36 people charged.

Thirty people — 10 of them UNC students and 20 non-students — were cited with trespassing Tuesday. Six who faced additional charges comprised three UNC students and three non-students.

The N&O does not generally name people charged with misdemeanors.

However, the names released Thursday provided access to court records with additional details about three of those arrested. Other arrest reports were not yet available.

▪ An N.C. State University officer reported that a 25-year-old protester from Asheville did not leave the encampment when ordered and resisted arrest “by lunging at and striking the officer with a musical drum.” The protester then “actively resisted by straining and not placing hands behind his back.” He was charged with assault on a government employee, trespassing, and resist, delay and obstruct.

▪ A 21-year-old man from Greensboro was accused of pushing to the ground and tackling an N.C. State police officer while being removed from the encampment. He was charged with assault on a government employee, trespassing, and resist, delay and obstruct.

▪ A 21-year-old man from Raleigh was accused of refusing to leave the “processing area” after a UNC Police officer cited him for trespassing. He also was charged with resist delay and obstruct.

▪ Three people whose court records were not immediately available were charged with trespassing and with resist delay and obstruct, according to information provided by court officials.

Additional reports

UNC did release information Thursday about two reports of simple assault filed Tuesday afternoon when protesters replaced a U.S. flag with a Palestinian flag at Polk Place. The U.S. flag was later reinstalled.

A CBS News cameraman from Greensboro, who filed the first assault report, said someone doused him with water from a water bottle at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The other report was filed by a 20-year-old UNC student who said someone intentionally struck him in the head on the university quad around 4 p.m.

UNC Police crime log entries for those alleged assaults do not show that anyone has been charged or arrested.

In the Spotlight designates ongoing topics of high interest that are driven by The News & Observer’s focus on accountability reporting.