What to Know
- Demonstrators set up tents and barricades near two UCLA campus buildings early Thursday.
- Some demonstrators climbed onto the roof of a building, hanging banners over the side.
- A dispersal order was issued and law enforcement officers moved in on the area Thursday afternoon.
Law enforcement officers responded to the UCLA campus Thursday after a group of demonstrators gathered there on the same day that the school's chancellor was testifying before a House committee about earlier protests and the school's response.
Video from NewsChopper4 showed two tents, barriers made out of wooden pallets, tables fencing and other items, and a group of people gathered on the campus between Kerckhoff and Moore halls.
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A group calling itself Students for Justice in Palestine posted on Instagram that it had established a "second encampment at Kerckhoff patio." Protesters on the roof of a building draped a large banner over the side that read, "Palestine Solidarity Encampment."
A line of officers in tactical gear was positioned in front of the building near more protesters.
Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Becks and Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Safety Rick Braziel issued a statement indicating that the protesters were ordered to immediately leave the area.
"There is reasonable cause to find that demonstrators' activities, including erecting barricades, establishing fortifications and blocking access to parts of the campus and buildings, are disrupting campus operations," the statement said.
Once officers moved in on the Kerckhoff and Moore halls area, protesters moved to another part of the campus.
LAPD went on a city-wide tactical alert due to the campus activity. The alert allows the department to increase the force or re-distribute personnel, if needed.
Work and classes in Ackerman, Kerckhoff and Moore halls were moved online for the remainder of Thursday. All other areas of campus remained open.
A significantly larger encampment was set up in April on the Westwood campus during protests over the war in Gaza. That encampment was dismantled in a pre-dawn law enforcement operation earlier this month that resulted in about 200 arrests.
On April 30, counterdemonstrators attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones, releasing pepper spray and tearing down barriers. Fighting continued for several hours before police stepped in, and no one was arrested. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries.
Sporadic disruptions continued following the dismantling of a pro-Palestinian encampment and some 200 arrests. The university closed fore a day, then shifted to online classes. On May 6, about 40 people were arrested during protests on the campus over the war in Gaza.
Chancellor Gene Block was one of three college presidents and chancellors who testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee about the demonstrations and allegations of antisemitism on campuses. Block said the school should have been prepared to immediately remove the original encampment.
Block, who is set to retire at the end of July, testified two days after it was reported that the university's police chief was removed from his job and reassigned. Chief John Thomas faced criticism over his handling of the demonstrations that included an attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment.
Block announced that Braziel, a former Sacramento police chief, would lead a new Office of Campus Safety that will oversee the UCLA Police Department.
Israel faces global criticism over the mounting death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than 900,000 Palestinians have been displaced by fighting in the past few weeks alone, and now lack shelter, food, water and other essentials, the U.N. humanitarian agency said Wednesday.
At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
