In the wake of extensive student detentions by police at a Texas university amid protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict on college campuses nationwide, law enforcement peacefully apprehended student demonstrators at the University of Southern California on Wednesday.
Across the United States, nearly 21 colleges are contending with disruptive pro-Palestine demonstrators, with four schools in Massachusetts, California, Texas, and New York experiencing significant disruptions.
Protests erupted at 21 colleges across the United States, prompting the New York Police Department to intervene at the University of New York and Yale University on Monday to address pro-Palestinian demonstrations. As tensions escalated, nearly 21 universities nationwide adjusted their schedules, moving classes online or closing parts of their campuses in response to the growing protests.
These colleges include:
Earlier in the day, tensions between police and protesters increased at USC; nevertheless, in the evening, a small group of demonstrators, encircled by locked arms, were apprehended one by one without any incidents.
The gathering of police officers surrounded the smaller group, which had refused to leave or face arrest.
Over the hundreds of onlookers gathered outside the police line, helicopters flew overhead. The school’s campus was shut down.
The mayhem that broke out at the University of Texas in Austin just hours before was drastically different from the arrests that occurred in California, even though universities that are having difficulty quelling unrest have immediately resorted to police enforcement.
Hundreds of state and municipal police, some mounted and brandishing batons, pressed forward towards the demonstrators, sending a few of them flying into the street.
According to the state Department of Public Safety, officers made 34 arrests at the request of Texas Governor Gregg Abbott and the institution.
Video captures an officer yanking a photojournalist who was in the push-and-pull during the demonstration for Fox 7 Austin, pulling him backward and onto the ground.
The broadcaster confirmed that the photographer had been apprehended. Amidst the turmoil, a seasoned Texas journalist was knocked down, and prior to receiving aid from law enforcement, he was observed bleeding.
Following extensive efforts to manage the crowd, the police departed, allowing approximately 300 demonstrators to return and gather under the school’s iconic clock tower.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, the university’s president, Jay Hartzell, emphasized, “Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied.”
These protests originated from a series of demonstrations initiated by students at Columbia University, who established encampments advocating for the university to disassociate from weapon manufacturers associated with Israel. This movement has extended to nearly 21 campuses nationwide, resulting in widespread suspensions and the arrest of numerous students.
House Speaker Mike Johnson encountered resistance during his visit to Columbia’s campus, where he was met with opposition from pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Johnson condemned the protests as “mob rule” and decried what he described as a “spread of antisemitism” across colleges nationwide.