University of Calgary served in lawsuit by organizers of May 2024 encampment
By Matthew Johnson and Hannah Caparino, May 12 2026—
It has been two years since the police removed a pro-palestine encampment on University of Calgary campus, now nine people who were removed from campus are suing the university, Calgary Police Service, and the City of Calgary.
The encampment was set up on the TFDL quad to pressure the university to disclose and divest financial ties to Israel.
Three individuals were charged under the Trespass to Premise Act out of the Five people who were arrested the night of May 9, 2024 at the encampment.
The lawsuit names specifically the Board of Governors as one of the defendants in the case. The Board of Governors were named in the lawsuit due to their request to remove protestors from the encampment.
Plaintiffs in the case allege that their charter rights were violated, and that members of the Calgary Police Service used “unnecessary and unreasonable force” in removing the protestors from campus.
Within 24 hours of trespass notices in May 2024 being issued to protestors, police officers began removing the encampment using batons and shields from U of C’s campus.
Calgary Police Service also utilized tear gas, flash bangs, and pepper spray in dispersing the crowd from the TFDL quad.
The lawsuit also alleges that police officers “knew that the protestors were dismantling the encampment and preparing to leave.”
Then Chief of the Calgary Police Service Mark Neufeld, who is also named as one of the defendants in the lawsuit, stated that protestors had “ample opportunity” to leave the encampment on campus.
Katelyn Anderson, a 38 year old PhD student here at the University of Calgary is among the nine plaintiffs suing.
Disclosure: Katelyn Anderson who was interviewed for this story, and is a plaintiff in the case, was a former staff member of the Gauntlet. Anderson was not a staff member or volunteer for the Gauntlet at the time of the May 2024 encampment.
“The amount of violence that happened, the number of riot cops that showed up, the violence that happened, that’s not acceptable. I just can’t let it stand,” said Anderson on the upcoming case.
The plaintiffs also allege that the Calgary Police Service also continues to “surveill some of the plaintiffs”
In a statement to the Gauntlet, the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) stated:
“We are reviewing the matter closely and recognize that the proceedings may help answer many questions that students feel need responses. From the outset, this became a matter of freedom of speech and the rights of students. As such we are disappointed by the steps that were taken on May 8, 2024, which were not conducive to free expression. We hope that the community can begin to heal as this case enters the courts”
The University conducted a third party review through private consulting firm, MNP, which found the university’s response to be comprehensive. The decision was previously reported by the Gauntlet to be criticized by the Students’ Union for its limited scope and lack of distance from the university.
The lawsuit also comes after reporting from Jeremy Appel’s The Orchard that showed via access-to-information (ATI) requests, the internal communications by those within the university’s leadership and communications team.
This included the monitoring of social media, including the university’s subreddit and university student and staff social media accounts where they identified themselves as part of the campus community.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking more than $300,000 in damages, as well as legal costs, and a declaration that their charter rights were violated.
“This has been my home for the better part of two decades, and I love this place,” said Anderson. “I feel privileged to be a student here. I love it. So I don’t take this lightly, but it’s not acceptable what they did to us that night.”
The University of Calgary said in a statement to the Gauntlet:
“The University of Calgary will review any statement of claim received through the courts and respond as appropriate.”
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
When asked if there was anything they wanted to say to the University of Calgary and Board of Governors, “see you in court,” Anderson responded.
Read the full statement of claim below: