At least two people have been arrested following protests during former United States President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, on Tuesday.
Biden was accompanied by his wife, Jill Biden, as they attended a ceremony where their son, Hunter Biden, received the Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution for Public Discourse.
According to the BBC, “groups of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the College Historical Society during the family’s visit, with some detained by Irish police, known as gardaí.”
“As Biden and his family left the venue, some protesters moved forward and objects were thrown,” Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported.
Several garda officers and public order police vans were deployed to the scene, where at least two arrests were made.
The former US president’s visit to Trinity College was to witness the presentation of the award to his son.
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Hunter Biden was convicted of gun and tax-related crimes in the United States in 2024 but was later granted an unconditional pardon by his father while he was still president.
The pardon made him the first child of a sitting US president to have been convicted of a crime.
Previous recipients of the Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution for Public Discourse include former Irish President Michael D Higgins, musician Bob Geldof, singer Patti Smith, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and South African anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu.
During the Dublin visit, Biden and his family also met Ireland’s Prime Minister, Micheál Martin.
Martin said in a post on X that he was pleased to welcome the family and that they reflected on Biden’s “strong Irish roots.”
