A crowd of pro-Palestine demonstrators staged a protest Wednesday night in St. Paul calling on Gov. Tim Walz to divest state funds from Israel.

They assembled outside Eastcliff — the Mississippi River Boulevard property on loan to the state from the University of Minnesota while the Governor’s Residence on Summit Avenue is under renovation. The mansion is usually home to the U of M president.

While most of the protesters stayed on the sidewalk, some crossed over the picket fence and onto the lawn. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS cameras captured the scene as Minnesota state troopers detained people who were sitting on the lawn as their fellow protesters cheered them on.

Minnesota State Patrol spokesperson Lt. Jill Frankfurth said about 100 people were in attendance. The 14 people who jumped the fence — 12 women and two men — were cited for trespassing.

“We support the right to exercise one’s First Amendment rights, but jumping a fence and trespassing on private property is not the way to do that,” Frankfurth said. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated and enforcement action will be taken.”

The group organizing the protest, the Anti-War Committee, said in a news release it wants Walz to address the State Board of Investment during its quarterly meeting on Thursday. The SBI manages pension funds for public employees.

Pro-Palestine protesters brought the same demands to the most recent SBI meeting back in November.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to the governor’s office for comment.