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UC Irvine pro-Palestinian protest: 10 charged, including teachers, with failing to disperse

By AP Author
Updated  September 18, 2024 6:41pm PDT
Protests
Associated Press

10 charged in pro-Palestine protests at UC Irvine

Ten people were charged with failing to disperse during pro-Palestine protests on the campus of UC - Irvine back in May. More charges may be coming.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Prosecutors in Southern California have charged 10 people, including two professors, with failing to disperse during a pro-Palestinian protest last spring at the University of California, Irvine that led to a clash with police, officials said Wednesday.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office said those charged included two UCI professors and four students. All are due to appear in court on Oct. 16 to be arraigned on misdemeanor charges, the office said.

"The right to peaceful assembly is a constitutional right and we encourage protestors to exercise their right to peaceful assembly on any issue," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. "However, criminal activity which transcends peaceful assembly will not be tolerated."

UC Irvine protesters, cops in riot gear clash

UC Irvine protesters got arrested one by one as police in riot gear tore down the pro-Palestine encampment that had been set up for more than a week.

Prosecutors are continuing to review evidence to determine whether charges will be filed against the remaining 40 people arrested during the May incident on campus, the statement said.

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The university said in a statement that all members of the campus community are subject to "all applicable laws, policies and relevant codes of conduct while engaging in protest activities."

Pro-Palestinian supporters use umbrellas and wear gas masks as they face off across from the Orange County Sheriffs as police prepare to remove the encampment and protesters after took over the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall at UC Irvine in Irvine on

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In the spring, university officials said they had allowed a peaceful encampment to remain on campus even though it violated school policies, but called in police after a small group barricaded themselves inside a lecture hall, supported by a large group of community members outside. Police in riot gear who were sent to the scene made dozens of arrests.

Police officers clash with pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) on May 15, 2024 in Irvine, California. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

Protest camps sprang up across the U.S. in the spring, including at University of California campuses, as students demanded that their universities cease doing business with Israel or companies they said supported the war in Gaza.

University of California, Irvine is located in central Orange County and has more than 36,000 students.