--- description: He was handing out bananas with rope tied around them title: College Student Arrested After Wore Gorilla Mask to Black Lives Matter Protest image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [black lives matter](/tag/black-lives-matter/) ## black lives matter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tennessee College Student Arrested After Wearing Gorilla Mask to Black Lives Matter Protest by [Abigail Abrams](/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 29, 2016 2:02 PM CUT by [Abigail Abrams](/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 29, 2016 2:02 PM CUT A student at East Tennessee University was [arrested](http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/09/28/Gorilla-mask-and-bananas-Racially-charged-Black-Lives-Matter-faceoff-at-ETSU.html?ci=featured&lp=1&ti= "undefined") this week after he wore a gorilla mask, carried rope and tried to pass out bananas at a Black Lives Matter protest. Tristan Rettke, a freshman at the university, was charged with civil rights intimidation, the [_Johnson City Press_ reported](http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/09/28/Gorilla-mask-and-bananas-Racially-charged-Black-Lives-Matter-faceoff-at-ETSU.html?ci=featured&lp=1&ti= "undefined"). Other students at the university were protesting the recent police shootings of black men in Tulsa and Charlotte, according to the [East Tennessean](http://easttennessean.com/2016/09/28/man-in-a-gorilla-mask-confronts-black-lives-matter-demonstrators-at-etsu/ "undefined"), the university’s student newspaper. In the middle of their demonstration, Rettke walked through the crowd in his gorilla mask, carrying bananas and a burlap sack with a Confederate flag on it. > [](https://twitter.com/EastTennessean/status/781167006322155521) East Tennessee State University Public Safety officers took Rettke away from the protest on Wednesday afternoon, according to the _Johnson City Press_. University President Brian Noland said he was “offended” and “saddened” at a press conference Wednesday. “We are exceptionally proud of the students who were peacefully participating in the event and the manner in which they exercised restraint, thoughtfulness and strength in the face of inappropriate and offensive behavior,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4512941/gorilla-mask-black-lives-matter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4512941/gorilla-mask-black-lives-matter/"},"headline":"Tennessee College Student Arrested After Wearing Gorilla Mask to Black Lives Matter Protest","datePublished":"2016-09-29T14:02:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:13:14.072Z","description":"He was handing out bananas with rope tied around them","url":"https://time.com/4512941/gorilla-mask-black-lives-matter/","keywords":["black lives matter","Tennessee"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abigail Abrams","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/black-lives-matter/","name":"black lives matter"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4512941/gorilla-mask-black-lives-matter/","name":"Tennessee College Student Arrested After Wearing Gorilla Mask to Black Lives Matter Protest"}}]}] ```