Tensions escalated as police dismantled a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the University of California, Irvine campus on Wednesday where activists also overtook a school building.
Videos posted to social media showed protesters barricaded 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.
Around 50 people were arrested during the crackdown. Campus officials estimated there were hundreds of protestors gathered.
In a text message alert, UCI called it a “violent protest” and urged students to avoid the area. “If able, please leave immediately & continue to avoid the protest area until further notice,” the university said.
Sky5 footage showed protesters being detained by officers beginning around 4 p.m. An hour later, as authorities began moving in and dismantling the encampment, tensions rose as demonstrators expressed anger over the arrests and several scuffles broke out.
Officers removed tents and cabanas and piled them into a corner as they cleared the area. They eventually headed to the second floor of the Physical Sciences Lecture hall, detaining anyone who remained on the premises while removing banners and signs draped over the balcony.
Some demonstrators attempted to reinforce their barricades as officers pulled them down.
By 7:30 p.m., police had gained considerable ground, advancing on the remaining protesters in scuffles that were getting increasingly physical, and had arrested dozens of people.
By 10 p.m., the campus was fully cleared of protestors. Crews worked to power wash the graffiti-covered ground while removing all remaining debris from the premises.
UCI canceled classes for the remainder of the day and advised staff to work remotely on Thursday.
The demonstrators are calling for the university to divest from its relationships with Israel over the Jewish state’s deadly military offensive in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
Last week, the university suspended several student protesters for what it called “multiple conduct violations” following another campus demonstration. Some of those suspended were members of a group that had been negotiating with UCI administrators over their demands.
On Wednesday night, following the arrests, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman released a statement on the protest, saying in part:
“After weeks when the encampers assured our community that they were committed to maintaining a peaceful and nondisruptive encampment, it was terrible to see that they would dramatically alter the situation in a way that was a direct assault on the rights of other students and the university mission.
The latest campus-specific and systemwide demands made by our encampers and their counterparts across the University of California attempted to dictate that anyone who disagreed with them must conform to their opinions. They asserted the right to oversee many elements of university operations involving the administration, faculty, students, and staff, bypassing customary campus protocols and ignoring the function of the Academic Senate.
My hope is that we can find our way to a culture of peace, mutual respect, and shared commitment to addressing our differences through the norms of scholarly inquiry and debate.“
Universities across California and the nation have seen similar pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
In early May, police at UCLA dismantled an encampment on Royce Quad that had been the site of escalating tensions and violence. A similar scene unfolded at USC, a private university, roughly a week earlier.
During the crackdowns, around 200 people were arrested at USC and over 90 people were arrested at UCLA.
UCI Chancellor Gillman’s full statement can be found here.