Many students protesting at the University of Southern California (USC) were taken into custody on Wednesday night amid growing tensions on college campuses nationwide regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
The protesters were peacefully arrested after being warned by the police to leave or be detained. The Associated Press reported. Police officers detained the students, who were linking arms, one by one, according to the news wire.
USC’s Department of Public Safety issued a series of alerts on Wednesday, indicating significant activity in the center of campus due to a demonstration. The department stated that officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) would be apprehending students who did not disperse from the area. warned Officials also said on Wednesday night that the campus was closed after the demonstrations ended.
“The protest on the [University Park Campus] has ended,” the alert from the safety department reads. “However, the campus remains closed until further notice. Students, faculty, staff, and people with business on campus may enter with proper identification.”
USC’s campus was already on edge after the school canceled a speech from its valedictorian due to security risks, after she had connections to pro-Palestinian sites on her social media.
These arrests are just the latest in a series of campus incidents involving Palestinian student protesters. Tensions began rising last week at Columbia University, where school officials requested the New York Police Department to respond to a demonstration on the campus where students had set up an encampment. Ahead of the USC arrests Wednesday, police had also detained students protesting at the University of Texas at Austin campus. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) weighed in on the demonstrations, saying those protesters “belong in jail,” as arrests were being made.The Hill has reached out to USC for comment.
Dozens of student protesters at the University of Southern California (USC) were arrested Wednesday night amid escalating tensions on college campuses throughout the country over the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The demonstrators were arrested peacefully, after police gave them warnings to disperse or be detained, The Associated Press reported. Police officers… latest in a series of campus incidents involving Pro-Palestinian student protesters. Tensions began rising last week at Columbia University, where school officials requested the New York Police Department to respond to a demonstration on the campus where students had set up an encampment.
Ahead of the USC arrests Wednesday, police had also detained students protesting at the University of Texas at Austin campus. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) weighed in on the demonstrations, saying those protesters “belong in jail,” as arrests were being made.
The Hill has reached out to USC for comment.
