Comedian Jordan Klepper arrested in protest at Georgia higher ed meeting over undocumented students
Comedian Jordan Klepper was one of nine people arrested this week at a meeting of the Georgia Board of Regents.
The small group of protesters entered the Georgia State Capitol building on Tuesday to oppose what they viewed as unfair treatment of undocumented students in the state’s higher education system.
Klepper, a former Daily Show correspondent, was filming the protest for a new Comedy Central series, according to Deadline.
Georgia police handcuffed the protesters after they refused to leave the meeting, and were charged with criminal trespass, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A video of the rest shows the group chanting “Education, not segregation.”
The group was protesting a Georgia state policy that bars undocumented immigrants living in the state from receiving in-state tuition rates at institutions of higher education.
About 11 people were arrested in support of undocumented students after disrupting and refusing to leave a Board of Regents meeting. pic.twitter.com/LjxZOr0glH
— Kevin Sanchez (@kevinxsanchez) February 12, 2019
Others arrested included community faith leaders and professors from Freedom University, an organization that provides free education for undocumented students, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Klepper later posted a photo on Instagram of him being escorted into a police car, and wrote that he was “honored to stand with” Freedom University and the other demonstrators.
He criticized the Georgia Board of Regents for “denying college admission and tuition benefits to undocumented students.”
“These are students who pay taxes, grew up here and want to learn and give back to their community,” Klepper wrote. “We need more thoughtful, curious, educated young adults dedicated to making this place better. Education is a human right.”
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
