early Thursday morning after police destroyed the campus’ Palestinian solidarity encampment, wielding batons and less-lethal munitions to break up the crowd and disassemble the barriers to the tent community that was erected one week ago.
Students, faculty and university staff told HuffPost that counter-protesters threw sticks, metal rods, traffic cones, chairs and electric scooters at the encampment, and sprayed chemical irritants that left lingering rashes. Some protesters said they were pulled into the crowd of counter-protesters and beaten.Protesters reported that Los Angeles Police Department officers stood by and watched the violence unfold for hours without intervening.
An archived version of one of the fundraising pages shows plans to bring “something very big for the ucla encampment.” In the early hours of Thursday morning, police launched a multi-front operation into the encampment, using flash-bang devices and so-calledbullets against students who were armed with makeshift shields and umbrellas. Although protesters pushed back initial incursions from officers, the camp was fully cleared by morning.“The police attacked not only the encampment but students all over the campus,” Açiksöz said.
Later Thursday, in an alumni town hall, Block acknowledged the protesters’ demands but did not signal any willingness to meet them. He also said that UCLA’s commencement ceremonies will go forward, though he expects some disruptions. “We just want our demands to be met. We want the university to step up and acknowledge that and be open about how they’re spending their money.”Your Loyalty Means The World To Us