Pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested across several US college campuses. Source: Jeremy Lindenfeld, X.
More than 2000 pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested across multiple United States college campuses over the past several weeks.
At least 200 people were arrested at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) early Thursday 2 May, after resisting instructions to leave the campus.
Some detainees had their hands zip-tied behind their backs as police moved into the encampment while protesters chanted “shame on you” in chorus.
“Several days of violent clashes between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators put too many Bruins in harm’s way and created an environment that was completely unsafe for learning,” said UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block in a statement.
On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, more than 90 students were arrested at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
Dartmouth professor Jeff Sharlet told the Washington Post that people at the protests “obstructed nothing; disrupted nothing; menaced nobody; and neither used nor displayed hate speech”.
US President Joe Biden commented on the counterprotest measures in a brief statement on Thursday morning.
“We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent, but order must prevail” said Biden. “Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations – none of this is a peaceful protest.”
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) reported on Thursday that while some protests have clashed, such as on UCLA on 30 April — where counter-demonstrators attacked students with projectiles, fireworks and chemical agents — the “overwhelming majority – 99% – have remained peaceful”.
Since the war in Gaza began, more than 34,000 people have been killed and 77,000 injured by Israeli attacks, with many of them dying from starvation due to Israel blocking food aid trucks across the Gaza strip.
The US has supported Israel throughout the war, providing military support in a $15 billion USD ($22.7 billion) aid package.
Many of the protesters are calling on the universities and colleges to divest from businesses that profit from and support the war in Gaza.
Police have made arrests across several protest encampments at Stony Brook College and Fordham University in New York; Portland State in Oregon; the University of Texas in Dallas; Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff; and Tulane University in New Orleans.
Protests have also started to launch across Australia, the UK, and Canda.
