Daniel Trotta and Mike Blake
Updated Thu, May 16, 2024
Law enforcement officers are deployed to the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine)
By Daniel Trotta and Mike Blake
IRVINE, California (Reuters) -Police on Wednesday took back a lecture hall from pro-Palestinian protesters who for hours occupied the building at the University of California, Irvine, then cleared a student encampment that stood for more than two weeks, witnesses said.
Officers from about 10 nearby law-enforcement agencies converged on the campus after university officials requested help because protesters had occupied the lecture hall, leading the school to declare it a "violent protest," police and university officials said.
About four hours later, police had ejected the protesters from both the lecture hall and the plaza that had been the site of the encampment, according to the university and Reuters witnesses.
"The police have retaken the lecture hall," UC Irvine spokesperson Tom Vasich said by telephone from the scene. "The plaza has been cleared by law-enforcement officers."
Vasich said there were a "minimal number of arrests" and characterized the protesters as "begrudgingly cooperative."
Hours before midnight, the university said police activity had concluded on the campus and all classes would be held remotely on Thursday, asking employees not to come to campus.
The demonstration at Irvine, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Los Angeles, is the latest in a series of campus protests across the United States over the war in Gaza in which activists have called for a ceasefire and the protection of civilian lives while demanding universities divest from Israeli interests.
UC Irvine protesters had established an encampment adjacent to the lecture hall on April 29 similar to those at other universities that have led to mass arrests and clashes with police elsewhere in the country.
In a letter posted later in the day, University Chancellor Howard Gillman said: "My concern now is not the unreasonableness of their demands. It is their decision to transform a manageable situation that did not have to involve police into a situation that required a different response. I never wanted that. I devoted all of my energies to prevent this from happening."
On Wednesday 200 to 300 protesters took over the lecture hall at a time when no classes were in session, Vasich said.
Police responded in riot gear and formed a barricade while an officer on a loudspeaker warned the crowd that they had formed an unlawful assembly and risked arrest if they remained, the Orange County Register reported.
Students chanted slogans, banged drums and hoisted banners, with rows of police standing nearby, Reuters witnessed. One banner hung from the building declared the site "Alex Odeh Hall," in honor of a Palestinian activist who was killed in a 1985 office bombing in the nearby city of Santa Ana.
Four adjacent research buildings with potentially hundreds of people inside were locked down, and those inside were instructed to shelter in place, Vasich said, though the university later altered that instruction and instead advised them to leave.
Shortly before nightfall, police moved in on the lecture hall, then engaged in a tense standoff with protesters at the encampment.
Helmeted police wielding batons formed a line against protesters. Police gradually moved forward, pushing the students back every few minutes, until the officers rushed the crowd and made more arrests.
Before long most demonstrators had retreated, police held the otherwise empty plaza strewn with trash, and a few onlookers remained at the periphery.
Since the day the encampment began, Gillman said the university has been in talks with students but has been unable to reach an agreement to find an "appropriate and non-disruptive" alternative site.
Gillman has said the university cannot selectively decide not to enforce rules against the illegal encampment and that "The University of California has made it clear it will not divest from Israel."
"Encampment protesters have focused most of their demands on actions that would require the university to violate the academic freedom rights of faculty, the free speech rights of faculty and fellow students, and the civil rights of many of our Jewish students," Gillman said on Monday.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California, and Mike Blake in Irvine; Additional reporting by Utkarsh Shetti; editing by Don Durfee, Diane Craft, Gerry Doyle and Bernadette Baum)
Tensions escalated as police surrounded the University of California, Irvine campus and arrested pro-Palestinian demonstrators while dismantling a solidarity encampment on Wednesday. Videos on social media showed protesters barricading inside the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall and rushing to pitch tents outside the building at around 2:30 p.m. The gathering was declared an unlawful assembly and officers from several law enforcement agencies created a skirmish line near demonstrators, who were positioned both inside and outside of the encampment's wood palette barriers. Officers began detaining protesters at around 4 p.m. An hour later, authorities began moving in swiftly and dismantling the encampment while tensions rose as demonstrators expressed anger over the arrests and several scuffles broke out. KTLA's John Fenoglio reports on May 15, 2024. Details: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/pro-palestinian-protesters-occupy-building-at-u-c-irvine/
Police on UC Irvine campus after anti-Israel agitators swarm buildings; students told to 'leave area'
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten
Updated Wed, May 15, 2024
After hundreds of anti-Israel protesters swarmed campus buildings and set up barricades at the University of California, Irvine, local law enforcement agencies responded and students were ordered to leave immediately on Wednesday.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a UC Irvine spokesperson said that the campus erupted into chaos after several hundreds of protesters entered the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall on the California campus and began to barricade the building at 2:30 p.m. PST.
The university said that it put out a call to local law enforcement and received immediate assistance from the Irvine Police Department and Orange County Sheriff's Department.
In livestream footage of the anti-Israel agitators' confrontation with police, at least one protester was arrested.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT IN HANDCUFFS RIPS UP DIPLOMA ON COMMENCEMENT STAGE IN ACT OF PROTEST
Law enforcement stand-off with anti-Israel agitators at the University of California, Irvine on Wednesday, May 15.
In a follow-up statement, students were told to "leave area" as the protest continued.
"Anyone currently in buildings in the vicinity of the protest are advised to exit buildings & leave area at this time," UC Irvine said in a statement. "Please disregard all previous orders to shelter in place. If able, please leave immediately & continue to avoid the protest area until further notice."
Police stand in front of anti-Israel agitators at the University of California, Irvine, on Wednesday.
Footage from the campus showed law enforcement, dressed in protest gear and holding batons, clashing with anti-Israel agitators.
The protesters were seen holding umbrellas and chanting, "free, free Palestine."
"From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free" they were heard chanting. "Long live Palestine."
Police stand in front of anti-Israel agitators at the University of California, Irvine, on Wednesday. Demonstrators continue to swarm college campuses across the U.S. in protest of the Jewish state's war with Hamas.
Authorities said that the protesters who entered the campus on Wednesday afternoon joined the established encampment that had been occupying the campus since April 29.
NYU STUDENTS WALK OUT OF COMMENCEMENT, DEMAND UNIVERSITY DIVEST FROM ISRAEL
Law enforcement was seen toppling encampment tents at the University of California, Irvine, on Wednesday.
In an earlier X post, UC Irvine told students to "shelter in place" as police descended onto the campus.
"Protest has escalated near Physical Science Quad. Avoid the area," the social media post said. "If you are in the area, shelter in place for your safety until further notice."
Law enforcement from multiple agencies responded to UC Irvine after hundreds of protesters descended onto the California campus.
Beto Mendez, a UC Irvine student Senator, told Fox News Digital that police are slowly clearing some of the encampments.
"Police are clearing out some encampments, very slowly, there are like five helicopters flying above right now," Mendez said.
The college student said that many of the protesters do not appear to be UC Irvine students, adding that he saw children at the protest.
He added that it was "shocking" that the protests were happening on campus and that school administration is being "very careful and moving slowly."
Police stand in front of anti-Israel agitators at the University of California, Irvine, on Wednesday. Demonstrators continue to swarm college campuses across the U.S. in protest of the Jewish state's war with Hamas.
UC Irvine said that classes have been canceled for the remainder of the day and that they are monitoring the situation.
"We are continuing to monitor the situation and strongly urge people to stay away from the campus," the school said.
In an update on Wednesday night, UC Irvine said that classes would be fully remote on Thursday, noting that protests continued into the evening.
"UC Irvine will move to remote instruction on Thursday, May 16," the university announced. "Unless specifically noted, all employees should work remotely. Resident students may still access dining facilities. Protest activity continues. Please avoid the area until further notice."
Hundreds of protesters entered the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall on the University of California, Irvine, campus and began to barricade the building at 2:30 p.m. PST.
In a statement on X, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said that any violence or vandalism "of any kind" would not be "tolerated."
"The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is continuing to work with law enforcement to monitor all protest-related activity in Orange County, including today’s protest at the University of California, Irvine," Spitzer wrote in a X post.
"The right to peaceful assembly is a constitutional right, and we encourage protesters to exercise their right to peaceful assembly; however, criminal activity which transcends peaceful assembly, including violence and vandalism of any kind, will not be tolerated," he said.
"Any evidence of criminal activity, including failure to obey lawful orders to disperse, will be investigated and thoroughly reviewed to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed," Spitzer said.
Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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