By Early Thursday morning, police began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment at the UCLA campus, removing barricades, and detaining several people.
The law enforcement action came about 24 hours after counter-protesters attacked the tent encampment, and hundreds of protesters defied police orders to leave.
Police used flash-bangs, which produce bright light and loud noise, to disorient and stun people, as they moved in on the encampment. Chants of “Where were you last night?” could be heard from the protesters, who held umbrellas as shields while facing off with dozens of officers.
Some demonstrators warned their fellow protesters to be ready with water in case police released tear gas or other irritants.
The police action occurred after the UCLA administration and campus police waited hours to stop the counter-protesters’ attack the previous night, drawing condemnation from Muslim students and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Demonstrators had rebuilt makeshift barriers around their tents on Wednesday afternoon while state and campus police watched.
Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in a student movement unlike any other this century.
The ensuing police crackdowns have echoed actions taken decades ago against a much larger protest movement protesting the Vietnam War.
The tense standoff at UCLA came after violence instigated by counter-protesters erupted in the same place the night before. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries, and the tepid response by authorities drew criticism from political leaders as well as Muslim students and advocacy groups.
By Wednesday afternoon, a small city had sprung up inside the reinforced encampment, full of hundreds of people and tents on the campus quad.
Outside the encampment, a crowd of students, alumni, and neighbors gathered on campus steps, joining in pro-Palestinian chants, while a group of students holding signs and wearing T-shirts in support of Israel and Jewish people demonstrated nearby.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement that “a group of instigators” perpetrated the previous night’s attack, but he did not provide details about the crowd or why the administration and school police did not act sooner.
Block promised a review of the night’s events after California Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced the delays.
The head of the University of California system, Michael Drake, ordered an “independent review of the university’s planning, its actions, and the response by law enforcement.”
Several students who spoke during a news conference said they had to rely on each other, not the police, for support as they were attacked, and that many in the pro-Palestinian encampment remained peaceful and did not engage with counter-protesters.
This is all playing out in an election year in the U.S., raising questions about whether young voters — who are critical for Democrats — will back President Joe Biden’s reelection effort, given his staunch support of Israel.
