At least 2,000 people arrested at pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses, AP tally shows

LOS ANGELES — At least 200 people were arrested at UCLA Thursday, bringing the nationwide total of arrests to more than 2,000 at dozens of college campuses since police cleared an encampment at Columbia University in mid-April, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Workers entered the former encampment site Thursday morning and began an extensive cleanup. Bulldozers scooped up bags of trash and dismantled tents. Some buildings were covered in graffiti. They included a college professor from Illinois who said he suffered multiple broken ribs and a broken hand during a pro-Palestine protest on Saturday at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Seventeen people were arrested on criminal trespass charges Wednesday at the University of Texas at Dallas after demonstrators refused to comply with law enforcement orders to remove an encampment from the school’s main walkway, a university spokeswoman said in a statement Thursday. In Oregon, police began to clear pro-Palestinian rights demonstrators out of the Millar Library at Portland State University, which they have been occupying since Monday.

Meanwhile, Florida’s state university chancellor has ordered campus presidents to take whatever steps necessary to prevent disruption of graduation ceremonies, including at large schools such as the University of Florida and Florida State University. Israel has branded the protests antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, protest organizers — some of whom are Jewish — call it a peaceful movement to defend Palestinian rights and protest the war.

By Wednesday afternoon, a small city sprang up inside the reenforced encampment, with hundreds of people and tents on the quad. Demonstrators rebuilt the makeshift barriers around their tents while state and campus police watched.

Education Education Latest News, Education Education Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Demonstrators, counter-protesters clash at UCLA campus over Israel-Hamas warCounter protesters attack a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as clashes erupt, in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024.
Source: CBCNews - 🏆 2. / 99 Read more »

Police move in and begin dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators' encampment at UCLALOS ANGELES (AP) — Police removed barricades and began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied orders to leave .
Source: PGCitizen - 🏆 65. / 51 Read more »