Standoff Intensifies on UCLA Campus In Face Of Encampment Raid

LOS ANGELES, CA — Pro-Palestine protesters remained ensconced in their heavily fortified UCLA encampment Thursday as hundreds of law enforcement officers positioned themselves strategically nearby in apparent preparation for a raid to disperse the gathering that has been the scene of multiple violent clashes since it formed last week.

It was unknown how many protesters were still inside the encampment walls, although some reports from the scene put the number at more than 1,000. More than 100 tents were visible within the camp's perimeter. It was also unknown how many of the protesters were actually UCLA students or affiliated with the university.

UCLA officials notified protesters on Tuesday that the encampment had been deemed an unlawful assembly, and any students remaining inside could face discipline ranging up to expulsion, while university staffers could face termination and people unaffiliated with UCLA could face misdemeanor criminal charges.

Despite those warnings, the encampment remained intact, even after several violent hours late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, when a group of counter-protesters attacked the camp with fireworks and reportedly deployed pepper spray and bear repellent. Protest organizers said more than a dozen people were injured, most from exposure to the chemical agents.

At about 6 p.m. Wednesday, university police made an announcement over campus loudspeakers, re-stating that the encampment is an unlawful assembly and ordering the large group to disperse. The announcement was rebroadcast every 30 minutes into the evening hours, but there was no sign of movement from any of the protesters.

As those announcements continued, law enforcement ranks on the campus swelled into the hundreds. The Los Angeles Police Department went on a citywide tactical alert, keeping all officers on duty beyond their shifts. LAPD officers -- along with Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, campus police and California Highway Patrol officers -- were deployed either directly to the campus or to the nearby West Los Angeles federal building, where multiple mobile-command vehicles were stationed, along with at least a half-dozen sheriff's inmate-transport buses.

Protest organizers issued a statement early Wednesday evening calling on the community to come to the campus to help defend the encampment. Protesters said they were "ready to stand firm against an institution who would see us destroyed -- the very institution that claims to care for `student safety' and the very institution that encouraged last night's Zionist assault" -- referencing the late-Tuesday assault on the camp.

Perhaps in response to that call, hundreds -- if not thousands -- of protest supporters gathered on the outskirts of the encampment Wednesday night, some of them locking arms in an effort to block law enforcement from approaching the protesters.

By about 8:30 p.m., police in riot gear began forming skirmish lines outside the encampment boundary, which was fortified throughout the day by protesters who used sheets of plywood to form a makeshift wall.

Protest supporters, and even some counter-protesters, who were gathered on the campus watched the unfolding drama in largely peaceful fashion while standing behind metal barricades. Protest supporters occasionally chanted at police, shouting "Shame on you" and "Why are you in riot gear, we don't see no riot here."

An hours-long standoff ensued, with officers making no immediate moves toward the encampment. There was no definitive information that a raid on the campus would take place -- beyond the speculation fueled by the sheer number of law enforcement officers and equipment deployed on the campus or mustering nearby.

Some observers speculated that police might wait until the early morning hours to move on the encampment, in hopes many of the people who had gathered in support of the protesters would disperse overnight. By early Thursday morning, however, the crowd only seemed to have grown larger.

Classes were canceled at the university on Wednesday following the violence the night before, and possibly in anticipation of police action against the encampment.

All classes on Thursday and Friday will be held remotely, with university officials saying operations at the Westwood campus would be "limited." All campus employees were "encouraged to work remotely wherever possible."

Tuesday night's violence erupted shortly before midnight when a group of counter-protesters launched their offensive against the encampment. People were seen attacking others with sticks, while fist-fights and wrestling matches ensued, and the violence continued seemingly unchecked by police until officers in riot gear moved in around 3 a.m. Wednesday and managed to separate the warring factions. There were no reports of any arrests.

In a message to the UCLA community Wednesday afternoon, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block called the overnight clashes the result of "instigators" who came to the campus to "forcefully attack the encampment."

"However one feels about the encampment, this attack on our students, faculty and community members was utterly unacceptable," Block said. "It has shaken our campus to its core and -- adding to other abhorrent incidents that we have witnessed and that have circulated on social media over the past several days -- further damaged our community's sense of security."

He added: "We are still gathering information about the attack on the encampment last night, and I can assure you that we will conduct a thorough investigation that may lead to arrests, expulsions and dismissals. We are also carefully examining our own security processes in light of recent events. ... This is a dark chapter in our campus' history. We will restore a safe learning environment at UCLA."

Multiple officials -- led by Gov. Gavin Newsom -- demanded answers about why law enforcement appeared to delay its response to the clashes Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. Newsom's office called the "limited and delayed campus law enforcement response ... unacceptable."

"The law is clear: The right to free speech does not extend to inciting violence, vandalism or lawlessness on campus," Newsom said in a statement. "Those who engage in illegal behavior must be held accountable for their actions -- including through criminal prosecution, suspension or expulsion."

University of California President Michael V. Drake issued a statement Wednesday saying he has "requested a detailed accounting from the campus about what transpired in the early morning hours today (Wednesday)."

"But some confusion remains. Therefore, we are also ordering an independent external review of both UCLA's planning and actions, and the effectiveness of the mutual aid response. Such a review will help us address many immediate questions but also help guide us in possible future events."

The UC Board of Regents has scheduled a special closed-door meeting for Friday to discuss campus encampments and the university system's response.

Mayor Karen Bass, who cut short a lobbying trip to Washington D.C. to return to Los Angeles in response to the overnight violence, said Wednesday there must be "a full investigation into what occurred on campus (Tuesday night). Those involved in launching fireworks at other people, spraying chemicals and physically assaulting others will be found, arrested, and prosecuted, as well as anyone involved in any form of violence or lawlessness."

In response to the criticism of the police response to the violence, the Federated University Police Officers' Association issued a statement on behalf of officers at the 10 police departments in the UC system. The association insisted that decisions about police response to campus violence "rest firmly in the hands of campus leadership."

"They shoulder the accountability for the outcomes stemming from these decisions, not the UC Police Department," according to the group. "... The campus leadership, not law enforcement, owns the results of their decisions."

Organizers of the UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment, similar to their counterparts at USC, issued a list of demands last week calling for divestment of all University of California and UCLA Foundation funds from companies tied to Israel, along with a demand that the university call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and begin an academic boycott against Israeli universities, including a suspension of study-abroad programs.

The UC issued a statement in response noting that the university has "consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel. While the university affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.

"UC tuition and fees are the primary funding sources for the University's core operations. None of these funds are used for investment purposes," the statement continued.

Block, who is stepping down as chancellor at the end of July, is expected to testify before Congress on May 23 about the campus' response to antisemitism and actions to protect Jewish students.

City News Service