Evanston police pepper-spray protesters who allegedly threw bricks

EVANSTON, Ill. - A protest in suburban Evanston turned violent Saturday night when officers pepper-sprayed people who allegedly threw bricks and lit fireworks at officers.

Protesters who started a demonstration on the Northwestern campus marched into downtown Evanston, where “some protesters threw bricks at police officers, shined high-powered lasers into their eyes, and threw lit fireworks and smoke bombs at the officers,” a spokesperson for Northwestern University said in an email.

In response, officers used pepper spray and arrested one Northwestern student, the spokesperson said. The student was released from police custody early Sunday morning.

“As we have stated before, Northwestern strongly supports the free expression of ideas and vigorous debate, abiding principles that are fundamental to our University,” the statement said. “Northwestern protects the right to protest, but we do not condone breaking the law. Should members of the Northwestern community be found in violation of University policies, state or federal laws, they will be held accountable through our processes.”