Officials call for investigation into UCLA violence; Columbia goes remote for rest of semester

The University of Southern California in Los Angeles said protesters have left an intersection near its campus and it is reopening gates.

The university in the University Park section of the city had warned that protesters might show up, and they did demonstrate at an adjacent intersection.

A large crowd of people could still be seen at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles tonight, hours after news crews heard police orders to disperse, helicopter video showed.

There have been no reports of arrests on the campus, where there also was a pro-Palestinian protest encampment some distance away.

Police were seen on campus. The Daily Bruin student newspaper reported some police were in riot gear.

Last night, there was violence at the protest after what the UCLA chancellor described as an attack on pro-Palestinian protests by a band of instigators.

The University of Southern California has temporarily closed its entrances, and it said tonight that “demonstrators unaffiliated with USC” were protesting at an adjacent intersection.

The university said at around 7:30 p.m. local time that entrances to the University Park campus would be temporarily closed and warned protesters might come by there later.

“The campus is open to students, staff, faculty and registered guests,” USC said.

USC canceled its main commencement ceremony, scheduled for May 10, over protests on the campus, the war in Gaza and its decision to cancel a Muslim valedictorian's speech over security concerns.

Five more protesters have been arraigned in court tonight, all of whom were arrested in Columbia's Hamilton Hall last night.

At least four were charged with misdemeanor trespassing. The judge did not say whether any were students.

University of Wisconsin-Madison student Annika Bereny, a reporter for the student publication The Daily Cardinal, detailed “violence from law enforcement” officials who were responding to a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.

Messages echoing many of the demands of pro-Palestinian protesters were projected onto Hamilton Hall tonight.

The projector, located in the street just off campus, displayed phrases such as "strike for Gaza," "divest now" and "students say free Palestine." Other phrases took aim at the university with messages such as "Columbia funds genocide."

Protesters who gathered on the street chanted as officers looked on.

Police went into Hamilton Hall last night and cleared it of protesters who had taken it over.

UCLA today said campus would continue to be limited through Friday after violence broke out between groups at a protest on campus last night.

The university canceled classes today and said Royce Hall would remain closed through Friday, and it instructed students to watch for notifications.

“Please continue to avoid campus and the Royce Quad area. Per Academic Senate guidance on instruction, all in-person classes are authorized and required to pivot to remote tomorrow and Friday,” UCLA said in a notice.

The notice came as law enforcement had ordered a crowd on the campus to disperse and as police vehicles were seen in the area at what appeared to be a nearby staging area. No arrests have been seen.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the violence detestable. She said people launched fireworks and sprayed chemical irritants at other people, as well as assaulted them.

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California said a group of people with bear spray and weapons descended on the pro-Palestinian protesters and attacked them.

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden’s advisers believe that tensions over U.S. support for Israel in the war in Gaza that are spreading through college campuses will soon flame out and that there is neither a need nor an upside for Biden to weigh in more directly.

For now, Biden is taking a hands-off posture toward the unrest and has no plans to step up his involvement in escalating clashes between police and protesters, White House and campaign advisers said, even as Donald Trump looks to capitalize on the issue.

Biden’s view is that it’s up to university leaders to decide how to cope with campus demonstrations that are emerging as the latest flashpoint in the presidential race, advisers said. In keeping with that approach, he didn’t intervene or publicly object as police swept onto the Columbia University campus last night and arrested about 230 protesters, including about 40 who had seized a building and erected an encampment calling attention to their demand for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Read the full story here.

The first two protesters arrested at New York City college campuses yesterday appeared in Manhattan night court about 24 hours after their apprehension.

Two men were accused of assault on a police officer at City College of New York, and one of the two was also accused of resisting arrest.