Police and Pro-Palestine Protesters Clash at UCLA as New Encampment Erected, Reports Say

Police and demonstrators scuffled as protesters set up a new pro-Palestine encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus on Thursday, May 23, local media said.

Footage filmed by Cam Higby shows police officers wearing riot gear walking onto the UCLA campus, before clashes erupt with protesters.

UCLA’s administrative vice chancellor Michael Beck and associate vice chancellor Rick Braziel said in a joint statement that school officials had “withdrawn consent to remain on campus for the demonstrators on Kerckhoff patio, asking them to disperse immediately.”

UCLA officials said demonstrators’ activities, “including erecting barricades, establishing fortifications, and blocking access to parts of the campus and buildings,” were disrupting campus operations.

According to UCLA officials, those who did not disperse would be facing arrest, a seven-day suspension and possible disciplinary action.

On Thursday, the school’s chancellor, Gene Block, testified before a congressional committee about an infamous protest on the campus earlier this month, telling lawmakers: “Tragically, it took several hours for law enforcement to quell the violence. With the benefit of hindsight, we should have been prepared to immediately remove the encampment if and when the safety of our community was put at risk," according to KTLA. Credit: Cam Higby via Storyful

Video transcript

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