US campus protests RECAP: Violence breaks out UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment after 100 protesters are arrested at Columbia University when police storm student occupation
By Jamie Bullen
Published: | Updated:
Violent clashes have erupted on the University of California campus in Los Angeles between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counter demonstrators in the latest unrest to hit US campuses.
The trouble comes after more than 100 protesters were arrested on Tuesday night at Columbia University in New York City where one building, Hamilton Hall, was occupied by demonstrators before police stormed the campus.
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Our live coverage ends here
We have decided to pause our live coverage of the clashes at UCLA between pro-Palestinian protesters and counter demonstrators.
But there's plenty of content on the MailOnline website about the violence which flared hours after police stormed Hamilton Hall, an academic building at Columbia University in New York.
Here is a selection of our stories we published earlier and many thanks for following us today.
New York mayor - 300 arrests at university protests
New York City mayor Eric Adams has revealed about 300 protesters were arrested at university campuses at Columbia University and City College.
He said the NYPD carried out a police operation at Columbia's request to remove those disrupting a peaceful protest.
Speaking to the media, Mr Adams described how there was a movement to "radicalise young people" in which he said was a "global problem".
Columbia University mob unmasked: Police march bare-faced protesters onto NYPD bus
MailOnline reporter Joe Hutchison reports the protesters who stormed Hamilton Hall at Columbia University were unmasked before being marched onto NYPD buses to applause from cheering locals.
Read more here:
Timeline: How violence erupted at UCLA
It has been reported that counter demonstrators have left the scene of a pro-Palestinian encampment following violent scenes on the campus at UCLA last night and early this morning.
Here is a timeline of how the conflict unfolded.
10.45pm
- NBC Los Angeles reported that protesters armed with Israeli flags arrived at a pro-Palestinian encampment that was set up on UCLA's campus last week.
11pm
- Footage taken from helicopters show fireworks were set off and projectiles thrown as rival protesters engaged in scuffles.
12.30am
- Group of counter-protesters attempt to dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment that had been declared unlawful by the UCLA in a ruling hours earlier. Footage shows some demonstrators took a metal barricade and ran through the crowd with it.
12.51am
- Zach Seidl, a spokesman for Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, stated LAPD would be “responding immediately to Chancellor (Gene) Block’s request for support on campus.”
1.30am
- LAPD officers arrive and appear to prepare themselves to break up the riot by wearing gas masks. Around 10 minutes later officers from LAPD and California Highway Patrol move into the demonstration area and form a guard.
2.45am
- Los Angeles-based television station ABC7 reports that police officers engage with demonstrators and warn them they will be arrested unless they leave the area.
3:50am
- The same station reports that counter demonstrators leave the area
Watch: UCLA pro-Palestinian protester attacked with stick
We can bring you more footage from the violence which broke out at UCLA earlier with video showing how one protester was attacked with a stick.
MailOnline has previously reported that fireworks have been used as weapons during the clashes while multiple people have reportedly been tear gassed.
Watch: Shocking footage inside trashed Columbia University hall
Let's briefly turn our attention to student violence on the US East Coast after more than 100 protesters were arrested at Columbia University in New York.
MailOnline reporter Bethan Sexton has reported on the furious reaction to the occupation of Hamilton Hall, an academic building at the campus.
Protesters smashed windows, upended furniture and caused damage throughout the building before it was raided by riot police.
Read more here:
UCLA accused of failing to protect students
UCLA has been accused of being "complicit" in the violence inflicted upon student protesters in a scathing editorial published by the university newspaper.
The Daily Bruin, whose reporters have covered ongoing clashes on the campus, stated UCLA staff "stood by and watched" as tensions erupted as they asked whether someone would "have to die" before they intervened.
In an editorial, headlined "UCLA is complicit in violence inflicted upon protesters, failed to protect students", the newspaper's editorial board stated:
Daily Bruin reporters on the scene were slapped and indirectly sprayed with irritants. Despite also being students, they were offered no protection.
The world is watching. As helicopters fly over Royce Hall, we have a question.
Will someone have to die on our campus tonight for you to intervene, Gene Block?
The blood would be on your hands.
Chaos engulfs US college campuses in New York and Los Angeles
MailOnline reporter Paul Farrell reports the chaotic scenes at UCLA between pro-Palestinian and counter demonstrators mirrors the mayhem seen at college campuses across the US.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza, and the ensuing Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave, have unleashed the biggest outpouring of U.S. student activism since the anti-racism protests of 2020.
Read more here:
Everything we know so far about UCLA violence
Here's a quick summary of what we know about the unfolding clashes at UCLA involving rival protesters.
- Violence erupted at the Los Angeles university overnight after pro-Palestinian and counter demonstrators clashed at a makeshift encampment on campus
- UCLA's ice-chancellor Mary Osako says "horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight”.
- Fireworks were used as weapons while multiple people were reportedly tear gassed during the scuffles. It remains unclear if anyone has been injured but US media reported at least one person was driven away in an ambulance
- Los Angeles Police Department officers have been deployed to the campus but appeared to not immediately intervene which has been questioned by a professor of criminal justice.
- The flashpoint came hours after around 100 protesters were arrested at Columbia University in New York where activists had occupied Hamilton Hall, an academic building at the Ivy League university.
Professor - LAPD has questions to answer over campus response
A professor of criminal justice has criticised police in Los Angeles for an "inexplicable delay" in its response to violent clashes at UCLA between pro-Palestinian protesters and counter demonstrators.
Brian Levin, professor emeritus at California State University, said there were questions for police to answer.
Speaking to Sky News, professor Levin, a former New York Police Department officer, said:
What we have here has been an ongoing riot for hours. It’s gone on so long that a local columnist said ‘even the helicopters had to refuel’. So there’s been an inexplicable delay with regard to law enforcement getting onto the scene in any meaningful way.
There were probably a couple of hundred counter-protesters that lobbed fireworks, as well as apparently bear spray, at folks in the encampment on the pro-Palestinian side. Then both sides went after each other.
But this appears to have been instigated by counter-protesters, at least from the video I saw, although things were tense all day and there were reports of an injury to a counter-protester earlier. But I believe there are at least 10 people who have been injured, including people who have got hit in the head.
So this is a terrible situation that’s going on right now, and there’s going to be a lot of questions as to why a greater police presence did not come earlier ... They are still not deployed, as far as I could see, although they are massing nearby.
Tear gas used during UCLA clashes - reports
Journalists covering the violent disorder at UCLA in Los Angeles have reported that multiple people have been tear gassed which has forced police officers to use gas masks.
Anthony Cabassa, who describes himself as an independent journalist, said some protesters had been "maced" during the conflict as altercations broke out in front of police.
Among regular updates posted to X, Mr Cabassa posted footage which appeared to show LAPD officers putting on gas masks at the scene.
Dylan Winward, a student journalist with the Daily Bruin, the UCLA student newspaper, said he had been "tear-gassed" while covering the clashes.
What is the pro-Palestinian encampment? And why has it been attacked?
Pro-Palestinian are said to have built the encampment at the UCLA campus using plywood and barriers almost a week ago but the site was declared unlawful by the university on Tuesday.
Explaining its decision, UCLA wrote: "The established encampment is unlawful and violates university policy. Law enforcement is prepared to arrest individuals in accordance with applicable law. Non-UCLA persons are notified to leave the encampment and depart the campus immediately."
Anyone choosing to remain at the encampment risked facing sanctions that could include suspension from the university.
But the pro-Palestinian protesters immediately indicated they would not comply with the ruling.
"We will not leave. We will remain here until our demands are met. You justify the mistreatment of students in the encampment in the same way you justify your complicity in the Palestinian genocide," they said in a statement.
How did the violence start?
According to the UCLA student newspaper, entitled The Daily Bruin, supporters of Israel attempted to tear down a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the campus on Tuesday night.
Security was tightened after officials said there were "physical altercations" between factions of protesters at the encampment which has been declared unlawful by UCLA.
At least one person has been taken to hospital with injuries that remain unclear.
It comes as police respond to clashes involving pro-Palestinian protesters at university campuses across the US over the past two weeks which has seen more than 1,000 arrests.
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass condemned the violence as "absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable" in a statement on X.
Protesters use fireworks, traffic cone and a skateboard as weapons
US media have reported protesters have thrown fireworks towards the pro-Palestinian encampment while traffic cones, wooden pallets, a scooter and even a skateboard were used as weapons during melees.
Hostilities were reportedly ongoing for nearly two hours before Los Angeles Police Department officers gathered at a nearby car park.
Police vehicles could be seen nearby, but officers did not immediately intervene.
Footage circulating on social media shows fireworks being set off at the encampment , while one protester claimed he was pepper sprayed amid the mayhem.
What happened in New York?
Protesters at Columbia University smashed windows, upended furniture and caused damage in an occupied campus building Hamilton Hall with police making more than 100 arrests on Tuesday night.
Officers from the New York Police Department strormed the campus just after 9pm to break up an encampment that had been set up nearly two weeks ago as students took over the hall.
Read more here:
What has happened at UCLA?
Violence broke out at UCLA overnight between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters.
Demonstrators, some armed with sticks, were seen shoving and kicking one another, while at one point, a group piled on one person who lay on the ground, kicking and beating them until others pulled them out of the scrum.
Vice Chancellor Mary Osako said in a statement
Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support. The fire department and medical personnel are on the scene. We are sickened by this senseless violence and it must end.
The clashes took place just outside a tent encampment, where pro-Palestinian protesters erected barricades and plywood for protection - and counter-protesters tried to pull them down. Police vehicles could be seen nearby, but officers did not immediately intervene.
Good morning
MailOnline will provide live updates as violent clashes break out on the University of California campus in Los Angeles between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counter demonstrators.
It comes after more than 100 protesters were arrested on Tuesday night at Columbia University in New York City where one building, Hamilton Hall, was occupied by demonstrators before police stormed the campus.
We will bring you the latest developments on this breaking story
- Everything we know so far about UCLA violence
- Professor - LAPD has questions to answer over campus response
- How did the violence start?
- What happened in New York?
- What has happened at UCLA?
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