At Columbia University in New York, where the protests began, more than 300 people were arrested late on Tuesday, while in Los Angeles there were chaotic and violent scenes at the University of California when counter-demonstrators attacked a pro-Palestinian protest encampment.
Echoing language used by officials elsewhere, New York City's mayor, Eric Adams, blamed "external protesters" for "hijacking the protest and persuading students to escalate", without offering details. Student protest leaders disputed such claims.
Dozens of protesters were also arrested at the City College of New York in Harlem, and encampments were cleared at Northern Arizona University and at Tulane University in New Orleans.
On the west coast, violent clashes broke out on the University of California Los Angeles campus when counter-demonstrators attacked a pro-Palestinian protest encampment.
Aerial footage showed people wielding sticks or poles to attack wooden boards being held up as a makeshift barricade . At least one fi rework was thrown into the camp.
Administrators at the university called in law enforcement offi cers to try to stem the violence, which was the worst since counter-protesters who support Israel’s continuing military operation in Gaza set up a rival protest area near the pro-Palestinian encampment.
“Horrifi c acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support,” Mary Osako , vice-chancellor at the university, said late on Tuesday, adding: “We are sickened by this senseless violence and it must end.”
Writing on X, the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass , condemned the violence as “absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable”.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1588175106/1714615199/articles/20sUhVozJ1714616795115/4161166171.jpg]
Ananya Roy , a geography professor at UCLA, condemned the university over its lack of response to the counter-protesters. “It gives people impunity to come to our campus as a rampaging mob,” she told the LA Times. “The word is out they can do this repeatedly and get away with it. I am ashamed of my university.”
By yesterday afternoon the number of arrests of student s had exceeded an estimated 1,300 in two weeks. This added to tallies by the Associated Press and Axios earlier yesterday, across more than 30 campuses, coast to coast .
In New York, hundreds of New York City police offi cers entered the grounds of Columbia University’s campus in uptown Manhattan shortly after 9pm on Tuesday in what Adams described as a “precision” operation to break into an occupied campus building, Hamilton Hall, famous for a 1968 anti-Vietnam war occupation that was also broken up by the police. Students had barricaded themselves in there earlier in the week.
The protesters across US campuses are chiefl y demanding a complete ceasefi re in Gaza and divestment by their universities from companies with ties to Israel.
Columbia students started the current protests with a pro-Palestin ian encampment almost two weeks ago, pitching tents on the main campus lawn and starting a 24-hour rolling demonstration, after sporadic protests for months – and across many colleges from Harvard to Berkeley – since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October sparked a military invasion of Gaza by Israel.
Columbia University said on Tuesday that it had asked police to enter the campus to “restore safety and order to our community”. Graduation is scheduled for 15 May and the university asked the police to keep a presence until 17 May .
Student protest ers at southern universities have also faced school discipline or arrest. New Orleans offi cers with guns drawn cleared an encampment early yesterday at Tulane University, WDSU reported . At least 14 protest ers were arrested.
Police at the University of Arizona in Tucson fi red “non-lethal” chemical weapons as arrests were made, the Arizona Daily Star reported . At least one protest er was hit with a rubber bullet, according to the Star.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1588175106/1714615199/articles/20sUhVozJ1714616795115/1515614715.jpg]
And yesterday morning, police tore down ...
Echoing language used by officials elsewhere, New York City's mayor, Eric Adams, blamed "external protesters" for "hijacking the protest and persuading students to escalate", without offering details. Student protest leaders disputed such claims.
Dozens of protesters were also arrested at the City College of New York in Harlem, and encampments were cleared at Northern Arizona University and at Tulane University in New Orleans.
On the west coast, violent clashes broke out on the University of California Los Angeles campus when counter-demonstrators attacked a pro-Palestinian protest encampment.
Aerial footage showed people wielding sticks or poles to attack wooden boards being held up as a makeshift barricade . At least one fi rework was thrown into the camp.
Administrators at the university called in law enforcement offi cers to try to stem the violence, which was the worst since counter-protesters who support Israel’s continuing military operation in Gaza set up a rival protest area near the pro-Palestinian encampment.
“Horrifi c acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support,” Mary Osako , vice-chancellor at the university, said late on Tuesday, adding: “We are sickened by this senseless violence and it must end.”
Writing on X, the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass , condemned the violence as “absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable”.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1588175106/1714615199/articles/20sUhVozJ1714616795115/4161166171.jpg]
Ananya Roy , a geography professor at UCLA, condemned the university over its lack of response to the counter-protesters. “It gives people impunity to come to our campus as a rampaging mob,” she told the LA Times. “The word is out they can do this repeatedly and get away with it. I am ashamed of my university.”
By yesterday afternoon the number of arrests of student s had exceeded an estimated 1,300 in two weeks. This added to tallies by the Associated Press and Axios earlier yesterday, across more than 30 campuses, coast to coast .
In New York, hundreds of New York City police offi cers entered the grounds of Columbia University’s campus in uptown Manhattan shortly after 9pm on Tuesday in what Adams described as a “precision” operation to break into an occupied campus building, Hamilton Hall, famous for a 1968 anti-Vietnam war occupation that was also broken up by the police. Students had barricaded themselves in there earlier in the week.
The protesters across US campuses are chiefl y demanding a complete ceasefi re in Gaza and divestment by their universities from companies with ties to Israel.
Columbia students started the current protests with a pro-Palestin ian encampment almost two weeks ago, pitching tents on the main campus lawn and starting a 24-hour rolling demonstration, after sporadic protests for months – and across many colleges from Harvard to Berkeley – since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October sparked a military invasion of Gaza by Israel.
Columbia University said on Tuesday that it had asked police to enter the campus to “restore safety and order to our community”. Graduation is scheduled for 15 May and the university asked the police to keep a presence until 17 May .
Student protest ers at southern universities have also faced school discipline or arrest. New Orleans offi cers with guns drawn cleared an encampment early yesterday at Tulane University, WDSU reported . At least 14 protest ers were arrested.
Police at the University of Arizona in Tucson fi red “non-lethal” chemical weapons as arrests were made, the Arizona Daily Star reported . At least one protest er was hit with a rubber bullet, according to the Star.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1588175106/1714615199/articles/20sUhVozJ1714616795115/1515614715.jpg]
And yesterday morning, police tore down ...
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