Violent clashes break out among opposing protest factions at UCLA; situation got ‘out of control’
Pro-Israel counter-protesters clashed Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, April 30, with demonstrators in the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA — with violence breaking out just hours after UCLA had declared the "Palestine Solidarity Encamp…
Pro-Israel counter-protesters clashed Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, April 30, with demonstrators in the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA — with violence breaking out just hours after UCLA had declared the "Palestine Solidarity Encampment" unlawful.
As sporadic violence in the quad continued for about two hours, Los Angeles Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky posted on social media at 1:13 a.m.:
"Everyone has a right to free speech and protest, but the situation on UCLA's campus is out of control and is no longer safe."
Soon after that post, Los Angeles police and California Highway Patrol officers arrived to help campus police restore order.
I am at the UCLA quad, where things have been very tense all day after school law enforcement has asked protesters to leave and a large group of counter protesters has thrown fireworks. Both groups are facing off with lots of media & some cops nearby. pic.twitter.com/1nOGKDn85l
A couple of hours prior, just after 11 p.m. Tuesday, projectiles were thrown and fireworks set off, with possible tear gas fired. Opposing protesters got into scuffles. Dozens of people were participating on each side. Some combatants were armed with large sticks.
Around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, a group appeared to be trying to dismantle the Palestinian encampment, with some people trying to take down fences, plywood and other barricades. At one point, a group of protesters took a metal barricade and ran through the crowd with it.
A person with a stick, right, is seen after counter-protesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at UCLA. (Photo by Emily Holshouser/Southern California News Group)
One person was injured and taken away in an ambulance, according to broadcast reports. Until around 1 a.m., there was a minimal police presence and no indication anyone had been arrested.
Chants of "USA! USA!" and "Free Palestine!" rang out as bottles, and occasionally pieces of wood, were thrown.
The pro-Palestinian protesters had been preparing for such a showdown all day, offering self-defense classes Tuesday afternoon and providing those at the front of the crowd with hard hats and shields made out of trash cans.
Mary Osako, vice chancellor for UCLA Strategic Communications, provided an emailed statement to the Daily Bruin, the campus newspaper:
"Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight, and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual-aid support," she wrote. "The Fire Department and medical personnel are on the scene. We are sickened by this senseless violence and it must end."
Numerous students and others were observing the chaotic scene without participating, many taking cellphone photos and videos.
Around 12:50 a.m. a spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass said on social media that LAPD would be "responding immediately to Chancellor (Gene) Block's request for support on campus."
At 1:10 a.m., with no police separating the protesters, anti-Palestinian combatants were continuing to try to attack the pro-Palestinian encampment, hurling liquid and objects including a wooden pallet into the encampment fence line. Several pieces of plywood seized from the encampment by counter-protesters were dragged a block away and placed into a pile.
"I live nearby, so I just came and it's kind of just escalated, there's pepper spray thrown multiple times, bats, cones, things are flying," Karin Lang told OC Hawk, a news organization that often works with the Southern California News Group, adding she attended UCLA. "This was my campus and I loved UCLA and I'd love for my future kids to come here, but now seeing how the Jewish population has completely been abandoned is insane.
"I think tensions are high and emotions and support whatever side you want, but preventing Jewish students from entering the library that they paid tuition for and for the chancellor and administration to not do anything is insane. No part of this is peaceful; I saw one of them hit a Jewish kid with a skateboard, I saw another with a broken nose, I've seen them come out in troves and attack and I think it's insane that police aren't here. I called police, others have called police many times over the span of two, three hours, and no one is here. They keep saying, 'We're on our way,' and they hang up."
Three CHP vehicles arrived, at about 1:15 a.m., along with some campus police vehicles. By around 1:30 a.m., Los Angeles police had also arrived and officers seemed to be gearing up to enter the fracas. Around 1:40 a.m., CHP and LAPD officer in riot gear were moving into the demonstration area. More than two dozen officers set up a skirmish line.
"The violence unfolding this evening at UCLA is absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable," Mayor Bass posted on X. "LAPD has arrived on campus."
Around 2:45 a.m., officers moved in to engage with the demonstrators to get them to disperse, telling them to leave or be arrested, ABC7 reported. Forty-five minutes later, the pro-Israel demonstrators had left the quad at the direction and encouragement of police, the station reported.
Everyone has a right to free speech and protest, but the situation on UCLA's campus is out of control and is no longer safe. I'm grateful to LAPD and Mayor Bass for stepping in to ensure the safety of everyone on campus. https://t.co/NYLmBI4Pn0
— Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky (@CD5LosAngeles) May 1, 2024
The violence unfolding this evening at UCLA is absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable.
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