Tension erupted at UCLA after police ordered protesters to disperse

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Law enforcement officers on the UCLA campus Wednesday evening ordered more than 1,000 people to disperse in support of a pro-Palestinian student camp. should be arrested.

A large crowd of students, alumni and neighbors gathered on the campus steps outside the restricted area of ​​tents as they listened to various speakers and joined in clapping and pro-Palestinian chants. Deaf television cameras showed students passing goggles and helmets and setting up medical aid stations in the restricted area. A small group of students gathered nearby wearing T-shirts and carrying signs in support of Israel and the Jewish people.

The law enforcement presence and constant warnings were in contrast to the scene that unfolded the night before, when counter-protesters attacked a pro-Palestinian camp, threw traffic cones, released pepper spray and tore down barriers. The fight continued for several hours before police moved in, and no arrests were made. At least 15 protesters were injured, and the authorities' slow response drew criticism from political leaders and Muslim students and advocacy groups.

Ray Viliani, who lives nearby, said he came to UCLA Wednesday evening to support the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

« We have to take a stand for that, » he said. « Enough is enough. »

Elsewhere, activists clashed with police officers who destroyed their tents early Wednesday at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and police cleared an encampment at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire hours after pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up a handful of tents. Authorities arrested several people, including at least one professor, according to local media reports.

Disturbing scenes emerged after police in the early hours of Wednesday morning A building exploded Columbia University was occupied by anti-war protesters on Tuesday night, breaking up a demonstration that had paralyzed the New York school.

An Associated Press count has counted at least 38 since April 18, where more than 1,600 arrests have been made at 30 schools across the U.S. at campus protests.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Black said in a statement that a « group of provocateurs » had carried out the attack the night before, but he did not provide details about the crowd or why the administration and school police did not act more quickly.

« However one feels about the camp, this attack on our students, teachers and community members is completely unacceptable, » he said. « It shook our campus to its core. »

Black promised to review the night's events after California Governor Gavin Newsom and the mayor of Los Angeles condemned the delays.

« The community needs to feel that the police are protecting them and that others cannot harm them, » Rebecca Hussaini, chief executive of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said at a news conference on the Los Angeles campus later Wednesday. Narrated the events of the night.

Speakers disputed the university's account of 15 people injured and one hospitalized, saying the number taken to hospital was higher. One student described needing to go to hospital after being hit on the head by an object used by protesters.

Several students who spoke during the 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 camp remained silent and did not engage with the protesters. UCLA canceled classes Wednesday.

Tent camps Protesters calling universities Stop doing business with Israel Or companies claim support War in Gaza Unlike this century, the student movement has spread across campuses across the country. Police caning followed echoed the actions of decades earlier Against the largest protest movement against the Vietnam War.

In Madison, a scrum broke out early Wednesday morning after police removed all but one tent with shields and chased away protesters. Four officers were injured, including a state trooper who was hit in the head by a skateboard, officials said. Four people were charged with assaulting law enforcement.

All of this is playing out in an election year in the United States, raising questions about whether young voters — critical of Democrats — will support President Joe Biden's re-election bid, given his staunch support for Israel.

In rare cases, university officials and protest leaders made contracts To control campus life and upcoming disturbances Opening Ceremonies.

At Brown University in Rhode Island, administrators agreed in October to consider a vote to divest from Israel — apparently the first American college to agree to such a request.

After Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, nationwide campus protests began in Colombia on April 17 against Israel's attack on Gaza. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages. Israel, which has vowed to eradicate Hamas, has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the country's health ministry.

Israel and its supporters have branded university protests Anti-Semitism, Israel's critics say the charges are being used to silence the opposition. Although some protesters were caught on camera making anti-Semitic comments or threatening violence, organizers of the protest, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and opposing the war.

Late Tuesday, New York City police officers entered Columbia's campus and cleared an encampment adjacent to Hamilton Hall, where officers used a ladder to climb through a second-floor window, and protesters inside did not put up substantial resistance, police said.

Demonstrators took over the Ivy League school building about 20 hours earlier, increasing their presence on campus from a tent camp that had been there for nearly two weeks.

They faced threats of police removal of their tents and more than 100 arrests and suspensions if they did not abandon the camp on Monday. Instead, protesters occupied Hamilton Hall early Tuesday morning.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams charged « Rebels Outside » For leading Wednesday's protests and repeatedly citing the presence of a woman on Columbia's campus, her husband said Adams was « punished for terrorism. » The woman, Nahla al-Arian, was not on Columbia's campus this week and was not among the arrested protesters.

Al-Arian, a retired elementary school teacher, told The Associated Press that Adams misstated both her role in the protests and facts about her husband, Sami al-Arian, a prominent Palestinian activist. Nahla al-Arian said she went to Colombia for a day on April 25 to see a protest camp there, but left after getting tired.

Meanwhile, protest camps elsewhere were cleared by police, resulting in arrests or voluntary closures at schools across the United States, including City College in New York, Fordham University in New York, Portland State in Oregon, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in New Orleans. and Tulane University.

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An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted New York City Mayor Eric Adams as saying a woman on Columbia's campus was « convicted of terrorism. » Adams said of the husband of a woman on campus.

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Offenhartz and Frederick reported from New York. John Antsak, Christopher L. Keller, Lisa Baumann, Cedar Attanasio, Jonathan Mattis, Stephanie Dassio, Jay C. Associated Press journalists from around the country contributed to this report, including Hong, Colin Long, Karen Matthews, Sarah Brumfield, Carolyn Thompson, Philippson, Philippson. Marcelo, Corey Williams and Felicia Fonseca.