Officers dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, make arrests

UCLA chancellor Gene Block released a letter to the campus community Thursday afternoon following the chaotic events of recent days, including overnight violence that unfolded when police began to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on Royce Quad.

“Our community is in deep pain. We are reeling from days of violence and division. And we hope with all our hearts that we can return to a place where our students, faculty and staff feel safe and, one day, connected again,” Block said in his campus message.

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued the following statement Thursday in response to law enforcement’s removal of a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA:

“Every student deserves to be safe and live peacefully on their campus. Harassment, vandalism and violence have no place at UCLA or anywhere in our city. My office will continue to coordinate closely with local and state law enforcement, area universities and community leaders to keep campuses safe and peaceful.”

UCLA has not canceled classes but will hold them remotely for the rest of the week.

“Campus operations will be limited tomorrow and Friday. Please continue to avoid campus and the Royce Quad area.

Per Academic Senate guidance on instruction, all in-person classes are authorized and required to pivot to remote tomorrow and Friday,” a message posted Wednesday on Bruins Safe Online states.

Images from UCLA’s Royce Hall on May 2.

(Getty Images)

Sky5 captured aerial footage of the clean-up at Royce Quad after officers cleared the pro-Palestinian protest encampment early Thursday morning.

UCLA staff members are beginning the arduous task of cleaning up the remnants of the protest encampment at Royce Quad and removing graffiti from buildings.

“They have a lot of work ahead of them,” said KTLA 5 News reporter Annie Rose Ramos.

President Joe Biden defended the right to protest but insisted that “order must prevail” as college campuses across the country face unrest over the war in Gaza.

The president delivered his comments in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests that have disrupted colleges across the nation, including at UCLA and Columbia University where encampments were taken down by law enforcement this week.

“It’s against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelation of classes and graduations, none of this is a peaceful protest. Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law,” Biden said.

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The final occupants of a pro-Palestinian encampment broken up by law enforcement during the early morning hours were escorted off campus around 8 a.m. Thursday.

Police removed barricades and began dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied orders to leave, some of them forming human chains as police fired flash-bangs to break up the crowds. Some people were detained, their hands bound with zip ties. Full report>>>

Law enforcement remains in a standoff with a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus.

Many said they would not leave until their demands were met or they were arrested.

“My brothers and sisters are dying every day. I literally would do anything to help them,” one protestor refusing to leave told KTLA’s Carlos Herrera.

Law enforcement is continuing to arrest and process pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA.

At least 100 demonstrators have already been taken into custody, according to a CHP source at the scene.

CHP officer Roberto Gomez told KTLA’s Ellina Abovian that the detainees were being transported by bus to county jail. As of 7:30 a.m., many detainees awaiting transportation were cuffed using zip ties and were given paper bags to carry their belongings.

“They were given the dispersal order from last night, the majority did not abide by it — some did — and therefore we’re in this situation now,” Gomez said. “Essentially they’re being prepared for transportation.”

Gomez said UCLA police will be assisting with the charges for the detainees.

KTLA has made multiple attempts to speak with Gov. Newsom, the chancellor of UCLA, the president of the U.C. system, the U.C. regents and Los Angeles Mayor Bass about Thursday’s dismantling of the encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, but all have declined to this point.

“Remember students are going through midterms right now. It’s a facility [Powell Library] that many would be accessing to study in but of course, it is completely trashed,” KTLA reporter Annie Rose Ramos reported.

“Our photographer Ed isn’t going to stay on a lot of the graffiti too long because there are some expletives spraypainted onto the side of this.”

Trash, tents, water and old food were seen littered in the quad area as Annie Rose made her way to Royce Hall, which was also vandalized with spray paint and messages such as “from the river to the sea” and “free Palestine.”

Watch Annie Rose’s report.

CHP Officer Alec Pereyda told KTLA that arrests are “in the hundreds” as law enforcement works to disperse the pro-Palestinian encampment on the UCLA campus. https://digital-staging.ktla.com/video/9658369/

(Getty Images)

This photo shows officers removing tents from the now-empty encampment. (Getty)

The encampment was declared an unlawful assembly after several violent skirmishes broke out over the past few days between pro-Palestine demonstrators and pro-Israeli counterprotesters.

Dispersal orders were given to those in the encampment around 6 p.m. Wednesday but most refused to leave.

Officers from multiple agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and California Highway Patrol, were sent in to dismantle the encampment after the dispersal order but were outnumbered and decided to call for reinforcements and wait until the morning hours to move in.

Several flash-bang noises could be heard as police began tearing down the structure’s metal and wood barriers around 3 a.m. although it was unclear which side they were coming from.

Video showed several demonstrators being detained and walked out of the encampment by law enforcement.

Once the barricade was removed there was a brief standoff between more than 300 officers and defiant protesters who remained locked in arms.

Law enforcement could be heard warning the protesters to leave the area.

Around 4:30 a.m. dozens of officers swarmed through the middle of the encampment prompting a few of the protesters to flee.

By 5 a.m., video showed demonstrators being arrested and placed on busses for refusing to disperse.

“We don’t have those exact numbers as of yet but we do know it’s in the hundreds of people that were arrested,” CHP Officer Alec Pereyda said at the scene.

Thursday’s events come after a week of inaction by UCLA administration that allowed the encampment to be set up on campus in violation of school policies.

A counter-protest was eventually organized by pro-Israeli supporters and several skirmishes between the two groups resulted over the next few days.

The most violent confrontation occurred Tuesday night when about 100 people wearing masks and dark clothing tried to breach the encampment.

Images showed several bloodied participants on both sides, leading to outrage from city and state officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The disruption caused classes to be canceled at the school on Wednesday.