Police Officers Respond as Clashes Erupt at U.C.L.A. Encampment

[RandySF]

Administrators at the University of California, Los Angeles, called in law enforcement officers after violent clashes broke out at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment, a university official said early Wednesday.

The Los Angeles police were “responding immediately” to a request for support from the university, according to the office of the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass.

“Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support,” Mary Osako, a vice chancellor at the university, in said an emailed statement.

“The fire department and medical personnel are on the scene,” she added. “We are sickened by this senseless violence and it must end.”

Videos posted to social media show clashes involving protesters, firecrackers exploding near groups of demonstrators and people spraying what appeared to be irritant sprays at one another. Some people are also seen tearing down metal barricades surrounding the encampment.




https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/nyregion/ucla-protests.html

[SunSeeker]

1. The UCLA encampment needs to be cleared out.

I hope LAPD handles it as well as NYPD did Columbia's encampments tonight.

[agalisgv]

2. Hopefully there are not any serious injuries.

Didn't think student protests would turn so ugly.

[RandySF]

3. The counter protesters looked unusually thuggish

Chanted “USA” when LAPD arrived. I’m not sure they were actual students.

[LeftInTX]

4. They looked like RWingers to me.

[mopinko]

5. russians.

we’ve all known this wasnt organic. there’s a post here this morning linking russia and antisemitic bullshit online.
i believe a russian backed org was also linked to a demonstration.

[LeftInTX]

8. They were attacking the pro-Palestinian camp. They looked like (anti-Muslim) MAGATS to me.

[TheRickles]

6. Article is behind a paywall. Does it describe in any detail what is a "horrific act of violence"?

Or is that just a phrase designed to catch eyeballs? (not that the NYT would ever stoop so low....)

[TiberiusB]

7. It seems the encampment was attacked

From KTLA in Los Angeles:

Dozens of counter-protestors, many wearing white masks and flags over their shoulders, arrived around 10:45 p.m. and attempted to dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment that has overtaken Royce Quad since last Thursday. The agitators lobbed fireworks at the encampment and set off what may have been bear or pepper spray.

Demonstrators on the pro-Palestinian side used umbrellas to shield themselves, and skirmishes broke throughout the night out as counter-protesters attempted to wrestle away wood pallets, plywood and metal fencing from the encampment.

From Reuters:

Police were deployed to the campus after the Israel supporters tried to tear down a pro-Palestinian protest encampment, according to the UCLA student newspaper Daily Bruin.

From NBC News:

A counter protester throws a fence at pro-Palestinian protesters next to their encampment on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles in the early hours of this morning.

It's not clear yet, but I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about the pro-Palestinian protestors being the ones responsible for this outbreak. It's also curious that this all happened immediately after the UCLA administration decided to declare the protest illegal. Those previously given to verbal clashes may have taken that as a green light to go physical. Also worth noting is that moves to arrest protestors at UCLA, Columbia, University of South Florida, and UT Austin all happened within a day of each other.

[LeftInTX]

9. At UCLA, the ones attacking the Pro-Palestinians look like anti-Muslim MAGA outsider types to me.

UCLA is accessible to the public and the location is much more easier to access by a vehicle than any site in NYC. Also, this is occurring at night. Once again, it points to people showing up in vehicles.

[lapucelle]

11. Apparently The People's City Council is involved in running the UCLA encampment.

The University of California, Los Angeles, has informed pro-Palestinian protesters that their encampment is "unlawful" and violates school policies as it moves to disband the demonstration.

Student and non-student demonstrators erected their encampment Thursday in the Royce Quad of the UCLA's campus in demand that the university divest from Israel while calling for a halt in the fighting between the Middle Eastern country and Hamas in Gaza.

The message was sent to demonstrators Tuesday, and comes as other universities across the United States have asked police to dismantle similar protests erected on their campuses, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

A copy of the message published online by the activist group People's City Council of Los Angeles, which is involved in the encampment, states that those involved but not affiliated with the school are breaking the law and could face misdemeanor charges.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/05/01/UCLA-encampment-unlawful/3721714546120/

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Link to tweet

[lapucelle]

10. From your link to KTL in Los Angeles...

Alicia Verdugo, a designated spokesperson for the pro-Palestinian protesters told reporters

Many of us got injured. We could have died last night,” an appointed spokesperson, Alicia Verdugo, told reporters. “It was extremely, extremely dangerous.”

Verdugo also shared her group’s aim and was blunt with her views on the solution to the Mideast conflict.

“People are dying in Gaza and the West Bank, and we will not rest until that stops … the destruction of Israel will put an end to the siege on Gaza and an end to the occupation,” she said.

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/officials-vow-to-arrest-aggressors-in-ucla-encampment-assault/