Police dismantle Palestinian solidarity encampment at USC

Police have dismantled the student-led Palestinian solidarity encampment at the University of Southern California.

About 4am on Saturday, as many as 100 Los Angeles police officers in riot gear raided the encampment at dawn as anti-war student demonstrators slept in the tents. In a series of tweets during the raid, the university warned demonstrators to leave the area, adding that “people who don’t leave could be arrested”.

Speaking to KTLA, members of the student-run newspapers the Daily Trojan and Annenberg Media said: “We were just sitting here, camping out. We saw a peaceful encampment. They’ve been eating food, having teach-ins … and then they eventually went in their tents later in the night and then at around 4[am] actually, we saw dozens of DPS cars [department of public safety] come in and then from there, they started bringing in the officers.”

“Before they came in, it was very peaceful. People were sleeping, in fact,” another member said, adding: “At 4am was when … we saw dozens of LAPD officers sort of come in, essentially in trucks, standing on the trucks. I think there were about four trucks, each of them had about a dozen or so police officers … Along with that, we also had DPS come in.”

Videos posted online by the Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation at USC showed dozens of riot police marching throughout campus as others stood guard with multiple zip ties hanging from their belts.

Around them, anti-war student protesters chanted: “Free, free Palestine!” Others chanted, “Who do you protect?” and “Fascists, fascists, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide.” Some also chanted: “Why are you in riot gear? I don’t see no riot here!”

Another video captured during the raid showed USC journalism professor Alan Mittelstaedt arguing with a police officer over media access as the police officer attempted to cordon media to an area far from the encampment.

At one point, the police officer raises his voice and says, “By law, you gotta get outta the way! Listen to me!”

In a statement following the raid, USC president Carol Folt said: “I requested the LAPD to assist DPS in removing the encampment as peacefully and safely as possible. At 4.10 am, an order to disperse was issued, providing the trespassers one last opportunity to leave voluntarily. In 64 minutes, the encampment was abandoned and cleared. The operation was peaceful with no arrests. We will not tolerate illegal encampments of any kind at USC.”

Hours later, some Democrats defended police actions taken across the country to dismantle campus encampments and even arrest protesters. Arizona senator Mark Kelly said on NBC’s Meet the Press it was appropriate for police to get involved when protests turn into “unlawful acts”.

“When they cross a line and when they commit crimes, they should be arrested,” Kelly said. “That’s the appropriate thing to do.”

Joe Biden, who had been silent on the university campus protests, confronted the issue on Thursday. “Dissent is essential for democracy,” Biden said in an address at the White House. “But dissent must never lead to disorder.”

The president added: “Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campus, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation … none of this is a peaceful protest.”

Saturday’s pre-dawn raid marked the second on USC’s campus after police dismantled an earlier encampment and arrested 93 anti-war protesters on 24 April.

The USC encampments, along with multiple encampments across US college campuses in recent weeks, were set up by students in calls for the university to divest from companies – including weapons manufacturers – with ties to Israel.

The encampments also come in response to Israel’s deadly war on Gaza since Hamas’s 7 October attacks that killed more than 1,100 Israelis. Since October, Israeli forces have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians across Gaza while leaving 2 million survivors displaced across the narrow strip amid a famine caused by Israeli restrictions on aid.

Israel has also destroyed every university in Gaza, in addition to killing at least 5,479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors, according to the UN, which has condemned Israel’s actions as “scholasticide”.

USC has received significant backlash from students, faculty and alumni in recent weeks over its administration’s crackdown on the student encampments, as well as its decision to cancel the valedictorian speech of Asna Tabassum, a Muslim student who has expressed solidarity for Palestine.

The Council of American Islamic Relations (Cair), the US’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned USC’s decision as “cowardly” while Tabassum accused the university of attempting to “silence my voice”.

On Friday, USC faculty staged a walkout in support of the anti-war student demonstrators and their encampment. Meanwhile, over 1,500 USC alumni have signed an open letter in support of the USC Divest from Death coalition.

Following Saturday’s raid, USC law professor Jody David Armour wrote on X: “My heart is heavy but my spirits are high as I grieve the loss of the ⁦USC⁩ students’ encampment but celebrate their courageous & conscientious fight against our complicity in mass graves, collective punishment, forced starvation, & the killing of more than 14,000 children.”