Hundreds Arrested In UCLA Protests, Campus Trashed: 5 Things To Know

LOS ANGELES — A nine-hour standoff came to a tense and chaotic end overnight at UCLA when police in riot gear breached and dismantled a pro-Palestine encampment at the school early Thursday, terminating a weeklong protest and taking over 200 into custody.

Led by the California Highway Patrol, officers advanced on the encampment around 2:45 a.m., initially encountering heavy resistance from protesters and their supporters near the western side of Royce Hall.

Officers deployed seemingly dozens of flash-bang devices as they worked to penetrate deeper into the encampment, pulling out tents one by one. People inside the encampment wrote on social media that officers fired less-than-lethal projectiles at them.

Protesters chanted, "Where were you last night?" at the officers, in reference to Tuesday night, when counterprotesters attacked the encampment and the UCLA administration and campus police took hours to respond.

The activity at UCLA was one of many campus demonstrations nationwide, which began April 17 at Columbia University to protest Israel's offensive in Gaza following Hamas' deadly attack Oct. 7 on southern Israel.

Below are five things to know about the overnight activity in Los Angeles:

1. Hundreds Arrested

A total of 209 people were arrested and booked, mostly for unlawful assembly, according to the sheriff's department. They were then released from custody with instructions to appear in court at a later date.

"Individuals were given food, water and had access to public restrooms as they were being processed,'' according to the sheriff's department. "They were also offered reentry services and transportation services.''

Los Angeles County Public Defender Ricardo Garcia said in a statement that his office is committed to providing all arrestees with representation and support.

"At this time, we do not have information on what, if any, charges will be presented,'' he said. "Nonetheless, it is essential that due process and the presumption of innocence are upheld. We will work diligently to protect the rights of our clients throughout."

The bulk of the detainees were taken on buses downtown for processing, and then released.

2. Final Protesters Removed

The last occupants of the encampment were removed from campus at about 8 a.m. Thursday, according to KTLA.

3. Campus Trashed

The encampment left its mark on campus Thursday. The front of Royce Hall and Powell Library suffered extensive graffiti damage, some of it profane. A large amount of garbage also remained behind. KTLA reporter Annie Rose Ramos described the area as "completely trashed."

4. Classes Go Remote

Classes were canceled Wednesday but the university will pivot to remote instruction for Thursday and Friday, UCLA announced, with campus operations limited. The university advised people to avoid campus and the Royce Quad area.

5. A Multi-Agency Effort

Law enforcement ranks on the campus swelled into the hundreds Wednesday evening. The Los Angeles Police Department went on a citywide tactical alert, keeping all officers on duty beyond their shifts.

LAPD officers — along with sheriff's deputies, campus police and 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.

Highway patrol officers poured into the campus by the hundreds early Thursday. Wearing face shields and protective vests, they stood with their batons protruding out to separate them from demonstrators, who wore helmets and gas masks and chanted, "You want peace. We want justice."

City News Service and The Associated Press contributed to this story.