LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police began removing protesters at New York University on Friday. Weeks of pro-Palestinian protests Approximately 2,200 people were arrested at university campuses across the country.
Deputy Director of Operations Kaz Daughtry Posted in X New York University said it had requested police assistance “to disperse an illegal encampment on the grounds.” Daughtry said police were “on scene.” Details about the possible arrests were not immediately available. A message seeking comment was sent to a New York University spokesperson.
More than 100 people were arrested earlier this week in a crackdown at Columbia University, where protests and encampments over the Israel-Hamas war began.
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A police officer accidentally fired his weapon while clearing protesters camped inside Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall on Tuesday, authorities said. The NYPD announced Thursday that no one was injured. At the time, he was attempting to use a flashlight attached to his gun, but instead fired a single shot, hitting the frame of the wall.
Police confront pro-Palestinian demonstrators inside an encampment on the UCLA campus, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Officials said there were other police officers nearby, but no students were present. Body camera footage shows when the officer’s gun went off, but the District Attorney’s Office is investigating as is standard practice.
At least 56 arrests have been recorded at 43 U.S. universities since April 18, according to an Associated Press tally. The numbers are based on reporting from The Associated Press and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.
At least 200 demonstrators were ultimately detained after police swarmed a crowd of protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles early Thursday morning, making hundreds of arrests. Defying an order to leave Some people formed human chains as police fired flash bangs to disperse the crowd. Police tore down barricades and removed canopies and tents at the fortified camp, which was made of plywood, pallets, metal fences and trash cans.
Like UCLA, tent campsite Number of protesters calling for universities to: stop doing business with Israel or the companies they say they support war in gaza Student movements spread to other campuses across the country. Unlike other examples of this century.
Israel condemned the protests anti-Semitic, Meanwhile, Israel’s critics say the country is using these claims to silence its opponents. Some demonstrators were caught on camera making anti-Semitic remarks and threats of violence, which protest organizers, some of whom are Jewish, have interpreted as a violation of Palestinian rights. It claims to be a peaceful movement to protect and protest war.
President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the rights of students Although he supported peaceful protests, he condemned the disorder in recent days.
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Demo scene started in columbia On April 17th, I called for this together with students. The end of the Israel-Hamas war, More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health. On October 7, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages.
On April 18, the New York City Police Department cleared the first encampment in Columbia. Demonstrators set up new tents and ignored threats of suspension early Tuesday as they stormed Hamilton Hall, the administrative building that was also occupied in 1968 by students protesting racism and the Vietnam War. They escalated their actions, including occupying the area.
About 20 hours later, police stormed the hall. Video showed police with zip ties and riot shields streaming out of a second-story window. Police said the protesters inside did not offer much resistance.
The NYPD said an officer’s gun went off at 9:38 p.m., about 10 minutes after officers began pouring into Hamilton Hall. The ministry has not released the names of the officers, but their actions are as follows: first reported The news agency The City reported on Thursday.
Tents are removed from the site of a pro-Palestinian encampment on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024, and were cleared by police overnight. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The standoff at UCLA also took place over several days this week. UCLA President Gene Block told graduates in a Thursday afternoon phone call that a sanctioned pro-Israel rally was held on campus on Sunday, fighting broke out, and later that day “live rats” were found at a pro-Palestinian encampment. He said the problems started after he was thrown into the ground.
Over the next few days, administrators tried to find a peaceful solution with camp members and hoped the situation would stabilize, Block said.
The situation changed late Tuesday, he said, when counter-protesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment. Campus administrators and police did not intervene or call for backup for hours. No one was arrested that night, but at least 15 protesters were injured. The slow response drew criticism from political leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and officials promised an independent review.
Mr Block said by Wednesday the encampment had become “an air raid shelter” and there was no solution other than to have the police clear it.
The hours-long standoff continued into Thursday morning, when officers used loudspeakers to warn that arrests would be made if the crowd – more than 1,000 people inside and outside the encampment at the time – did not disperse. Several hundred people left voluntarily, but more than 200 more remained and were eventually detained.
Meanwhile, protest camps at other schools across the country have been cleared by police, resulting in more arrests, or closed voluntarily. However, University of Minnesota officials reached an agreement with the protesters. prevent the start, And a similar compromise Northwestern University outside Chicago, Rutgers University in New Jersey and Brown University in Rhode Island.Others have taken steps such as Hire additional security personnel.
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Watson reported from San Diego, Keller from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Thompson from Buffalo, New York. This report includes Kavish Harjai, Krista Fauria, Leslie Ambriz, John Antoczak, Lisa Bauman, Jay C. Hong, Colleen Long, Karen Matthews, Sarah Brumfield, Philip Marcello, Steve * Associated Press reporters from around the country, including Karnowski and Gene Johnson, contributed.
