Moment riot cops clash with pro-Palestine protestors after they take over ... trends now
A college in California became the site of chaos Monday evening when a group of students took over a university building as pro-Palestine protests continue to sweep across the nation's campuses.
Protesters set up a shanty town within the California Polytechnic University's Siemens Hall equipped with beds and tents, reports KIEM-TV. The school is located in Arcata in rural northern California, close to the border with Oregon.
As the protests gain attention worldwide, billionaire investor Bill Ackman, an outspoken supporter of Israel, tweeted took aim at college leadership.
'What’s remarkable about these university presidents is how they dance around the truth, ducking and weaving before they are forced to admit their failures of leadership,' he wrote.
The group chanted slogans such as: 'Free, Free, Free Palestine,' a common war cry among college students nationwide. It's estimated there were around 300 student protesters.
A confrontation eventually resulted in riot police from the California Highway Patrol being called to the scene just after 8pm. A standoff ensued with some students using a side door to exit the building and leave the confrontation.
A riot squad from the California Highway Patrol was called to the school in rural northern California around 8pm on Monday night
Student activists occupied one of the school buildings while chanting pro-Palestine slogans
A California Highway Patrol helicopter hovered above the scene before leaving after a drone nearly crashed into it
The riot police attempting to storm a barricade inside of Siemens Hall
At 11:30pm, law enforcement officers left the scene, leaving the students to occupy the building, reports Lost Coast Outpost
According to KIEM report, at one point during the standoff a truck arrived in order to transport arrested students however the driver of the truck fled when he was surrounded by students.
At 11:30pm, law enforcement officers left the scene, leaving the students to occupy the building, reports Lost Coast Outpost. A California Highway Patrol helicopter also flew away following a near-collision with a drone that was flying overhead.
The website said that some protesters went to the local courthouse in a show of solidarity with other activists who were earlier arrested.
The Lost Coast report also showed protesters inside the building holdings signs that read: 'Help us please. They are going to attack,' 'They want to cut our wifi,' 'There are more of u than them' and 'Push them out.'
Arcata City Councilmember Sarah Schaefer was on scene at the protest. 'From what I can see outside, I think this is overkill,' she said of the police response, Lost Coast reported.
In the wake of the near-riot, officials at the school announced that the campus would be closed and classes moved online until Thursday.
On Monday night a group named Humboldt For Palestine issued a list of demands which included the school divesting from any ties to Israel, including any ties with Israeli education institutions, drop all charges against student activists and for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The group also said that Monday's protest was in 'solidarity with students across the nation occupying campuses for Palestine.'
Tents erected by pro-Palestinian protesters stand in an encampment at the Columbia University campus in New York
Students of New York University (NYU), held a Gaza solidarity encampment outside the NYU Stern School of Business in solidarity with Columbia University
Earlier on Monday, Columbia canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at New York University and Yale, and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public as protests raged on.
At New York University, an encampment set up by students swelled to hundreds of protesters throughout the day Monday.
The school said it warned the crowd to leave, then called in the police after the scene became disorderly and the university said it learned of reports of 'intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents.'
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., officers began making arrests.
'It's a really outrageous crackdown by the university to allow the police to arrest students on our own campus,' said New York University law student Byul Yoon.
'Antisemitism is never ok. That's absolutely not what we stand for and that's why there are so many Jewish comrades that are here with us today,' Yoon said
The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel's assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel.
Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group's Oct. 7 invasion.
A red flare is lit during the NYU protest against Israel
Tensions remained high Monday at Columbia, where the campus gates were locked to anyone without a school ID and where protests broke out both on campus and outside
Tensions remained high Monday at Columbia, where the campus gates were locked to anyone without a school ID and where protests broke out both on campus and outside.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina who was visiting Columbia with three other Jewish members of Congress, told reporters after meeting with students from the Jewish Law Students Association that there was 'an enormous encampment of people' who had taken up about a third of the green.
'We saw signs indicating that Israel should be destroyed,' she said after leaving the Morningside Heights campus.
