Arizona State University cancels event featuring Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib

Arizona State University has canceled an event planned for Friday afternoon that was scheduled to feature Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a university spokesperson told the Arizona Republic.

Tlaib, D-Mich., was scheduled to appear at an event entitled "Palestine is an American Issue" hosted by the Arizona Palestine Network, a pro-Palestinian advocacy group.

Instead, on Friday afternoon, several dozen people gathered in front of ASU's Neeb Hall, where the event was scheduled to take place. Tlaib and state Rep. Athena Salman, D-Tempe, who, like Tlaib, has called for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, delivered brief remarks to the crowd via Zoom.

After the event, a group of protestors marched and led chants around campus. At one point, the protestors occupied a roadway near the intersection of College Avenue and University Drive. The Tempe Police Department detained one person.

Tlaib has been one of the fiercest critics of U.S. foreign policy toward Israel in recent weeks as that country bombs, invades and cuts off most humanitarian supplies from the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks.

Last week, her colleagues in the U.S. House voted to censure her for what the resolution characterized as “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel” and “promoting false narratives” about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The event cancellation comes after a bipartisan group of state lawmakers wrote in a statement regarding Friday's event saying that Tlaib's views are "not welcome in the state of Arizona."

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Event organizers said that they had been working with the university to plan the event for several months and that ASU notified them of the cancellation on Thursday night. An ASU spokesperson wrote in an email that the university canceled the event because of procedural issues.

"Organizers of events using ASU facilities must be properly registered with ASU and must meet all university requirements for crowd management, parking, security, and insurance. In addition, the events must be produced in a way which minimizes disruption to academic and other activities on campus," the spokesperson wrote.

"The event featuring Congresswoman Tlaib was planned and produced by groups not affiliated with ASU and was organized outside of ASU policies and procedures. Accordingly, that event will not take place today on the ASU Tempe campus."

In their remarks to the crowd, Tlaib and Salman criticized ASU for canceling the event, saying it constituted "ethnic intimidation."

The Arizona Republic's Joel Angel Juárez contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State University cancels event featuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib