Chaos engulfs US college campuses as 'horrific acts of violence' break out ... trends now
Chaos continues on US college campuses after pro-Palestine protesters clashed with pro-Israel activists at UCLA, hours after police engaged with students in New York City, removing encampments and making arrests in what is fast becoming a deepening national crisis.
Tuesday night's incidents at UCLA were described as 'horrific acts of violence' by a school official. The fighting reportedly began when a group appeared on campus with the intention of dismantling a pro-Palestine encampment.
Shocking footage from the scene at UCLA showed both sides openly clashing as college security abandoned the scene and local police were nowhere to be seen.
Just before 11pm local time in Los Angeles, the violence escalated when the pro-Israeli side surrounded the pro-Palestine group. During this standoff, a firework was thrown at the camp.
The video showed both sides using pieces of wood as makeshift weapons. The walls of the encampment were smashed, at least one person could be seen being dragged on the ground by another group.
'Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight, and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support,' UCLA's vice-chancellor Mary Osako said in a tweet.
This mayhem mirrored scenes seen at Columbia University in New York City after activists ignored pleas to dismantle their camps, the police were forced to move in and arrest protesters.
A firework reportedly thrown by pro-Israel supporters explodes close to the student encampment
The violent scenes in UCLA mirrored those seen 3,000 miles away earlier in the night when the NYPD swooped and arrested student activists protesting the war in Gaza
A pro-Palestinian demonstrator (C) is beaten by counter protesters
Pro-Israel supporters attempting to dismantle a Pro-Palestine encampment
Pro and anti-Israel supporters are shown clashing on the campus earlier on Tuesday
The LAPD said in a message that their presence was requested on campus at UCLA due to 'multiple acts of violence.'
These clashes lasted for around 90 minutes before Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced that law enforcement was about to be deployed at the college. At 1:30am local time police officers and the California Highway Patrol arrived.
The Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza, and the ensuing Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave, have unleashed the biggest outpouring of U.S. student activism since the anti-racism protests of 2020.
This week alone has seen police at the University of Texas in Austin, Tulane University in New Orleans, the University of North Carolina and the University of Connecticut forcibly remove pro-Palestine protest encampments.
At Columbia University, the NYPD will remain at the scene until May 17 to prevent further encampments from being created.
Just blocks away from Columbia, at The City College of New York, demonstrators were in a standoff with police outside the public college´s main gate.
Video posted on social media by news reporters on the scene late Tuesday showed officers putting some people to the ground and shoving others as they cleared people from the street and sidewalks. Many detained protesters were driven away on city buses.
After police arrived, officers lowered a Palestinian flag atop the City College flagpole, balled it up and tossed it to the ground before raising an American flag.
Brown University, another member of the Ivy League, reached an agreement Tuesday with protesters on its Rhode Island campus.
Demonstrators said they would close their encampment in exchange for administrators taking a vote to consider divestment from Israel in October.
The decision to call in police was condemned by the Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of
