University of Arizona police used ‘chemical irritant munitions’ to clear out protest
University of Arizona police responded late yesterday to an “unlawful assembly” on campus and deployed “chemical irritant munitions,” according to updates from the school.
The school’s campus announcement system, UAlert, said shortly after midnight that “police action was being taken” and ordered students to “follow directions of police to disperse.”
Around 2 a.m., the irritant munitions were deployed and by 2:20 a.m., a UAlert was issued saying “all clear,” noting the area of the protest was open to the public.
UCLA's pro-Palestinian protesters say they suffered 'an act of terror' from counterprotesters
Pro-Palestinian protesters who remain camped at UCLA accused a pro-Israeli group of carrying out a "terror" attack and criticized college leaders for not protecting them.
"The life-threatening assault we face tonight is nothing less than a horrifying, despicable act of terror," the UC Divest at UCLA group said in a statement reported by the college paper, Daily Bruin.
"Law enforcement simply stood at the edge of the lawn and refused to budge as we screamed for their help," it said.
In a previous statement, posted on Instagram around 8 p.m. local time Tuesday (11 p.m. ET), the group said that "Zionist aggressors" who are not UCLA students had been "incessantly verbally and physically harassing us, violently trying to storm the camp, and threatening us with weapons."
The group said that UCLA administrators were trying to clear the camp not because it violates safety policies, as they have said, but because "they refuse to protect us."
Fence thrown at pro-Palestinian encampment on UCLA campus
A counterprotester throws a fence at pro-Palestinian protesters next to their encampment on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles in the early hours of today.
Around 300 arrested in connection with protests at Columbia and CCNY, police confirm
Hundreds of people have been arrested in connection with pro-Palestinian protests this week at Columbia University — where an entire building was occupied before police cleared it — and at the City College of New York, police said.
The NYPD's deputy commissioner for public information, Tarik Sheppard, told NBC News this morning that 230 people were arrested at Columbia, between 40 and 50 of whom were at the occupied Hamilton Hall, while the rest were arrested at CCNY.
Police have not identified any of those arrested or provided details on any charges.
USC president condemns swastika drawn on campus
The University of Southern California confirmed yesterday it was investigating antisemitic symbols that had been drawn on campus, including a swastika.
"I've just been made aware of a swastika drawn on our campus. I condemn any antisemitic symbols or any form of hate speech against anyone," the college's president, Carol Folt, said in a statement.
"Clearly it was drawn there just to incite even more anger at a time that is so painful for our community," she continued. The symbols had been removed, she said.
USC has introduced a ticketing system for its commencement events this year and canceled its main stage ceremony in light of ongoing tensions on campus amid the pro-Palestinian protests.
Police separate rival groups at UCLA but protesters refuse to leave
Rival groups that had earlier been involved in violent confrontations appeared to have been separated by a line of police officers by 2 a.m. (5 a.m. ET).
The scene is less chaotic than earlier, but a vocal group of protesters still refuses to leave despite police calls for them to go home.
Footage broadcast by the Reuters news agency showed a police officer saying through a loudspeaker "the encampment is over for tonight," urging people to leave.
But the pro-Palestinian group chanted in response: "We're not leaving, you don't scare us."
Mayor says violence at UCLA is 'abhorrent and inexcusable'
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass strongly condemned the violence at UCLA overnight, calling it "absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable."
She confirmed that the LAPD is now at the campus.
It's unclear why law enforcement wasn't sent into tackle the unfolding situation sooner. NBC Los Angeles reported that counterprotesters arrived just before 11 p.m. (2 a.m. ET), before clashes broke out and items were thrown between the rival groups.
Iran's supreme leader comments on university protests
Gaza “is the world’s number one issue today,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a post on X today, while commenting on ongoing campus protests across the United States.
Khamenei said that Israel and “their American and European supporters” were working to drop Gaza “from the agenda of world public opinion,” but “they will not be able to do so.”
“Look at what is happening in American and European universities,” he added.
Freedom of speech is heavily curtailed in Iran: a protest movement that grew after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022 was met with a violent police crackdown that killed hundreds, according to human rights groups.
LAPD responding to 'multiple acts of violence' on UCLA campus at university's request
The Los Angeles Police Department said on X that it was responding at the university's request due to '"multiple acts of violence" within the large protest encampment on the UCLA campus.
Clashes at UCLA between pro-Palestinians and counterprotesters
A group of counterprotesters attempted to dismantle the walls of a pro-Palestinian encampment, as one individual was dragged and beaten as clashes erupted on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles early this morning.