UCLA pro-Palestine protesters say encampment will stay up until demands are met

UCLA ups police presence after overnight violence

Pro-Palestine demonstrators at UCLA said police stood by and watched while they were attacked. But the group also says one of its demands is that the university stop policing on campus and sever ties with LAPD.

LOS ANGELES - Demonstrators and members of the pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus of UCLA, which was attacked overnight Tuesday, spoke out against the university, police response and more, and reiterated that the encampment will remain until their demands are met. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a dispersal order for the demonstration in the Royce Quad area.

"The life-threatening assault we faced last night is nothing less than a horrifying, despicable act of terror," representatives from the UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment said at a press conference.

Around 11 p.m. Tuesday, a group of counter-protesters attacked the encampment. Multiple fights broke out, as fireworks were shot at demonstrators.

UCLA student demonstrators speak out against violence

Pro-Palestine demonstrators at UCLA whose encampment was breached Tuesday night spoke out against the attack, the university and police, saying they don't feel safe.

Video from the scene showed people attacking others with sticks while the counter-protesters attempted to invade the encampment.

Demonstrators alleged that "Zionist aggressors hurled gas canisters, sprayed pepper spray and threw fireworks and bricks into our encampment. They broke our barriers repeatedly, clearly in an attempt to kill our community."

Other students recalled having things like cones hurled at them or being sprayed with bear spray.

The group also called out law enforcement, both campus police and external law enforcement, for not acting to protect them. Despite asking for a larger police presence, part of the group's demands include "abolishing policing."

"Law enforcement simply stood at the edge of the lawn and refused to budge as we screamed for their help."

The Federated University Police Officers' Association issued a statement Wednesday, saying "the decisions regarding the response of the UC Police rest firmly in the hands of campus leadership. They shoulder the accountability for the outcomes stemming from these decisions, not the UC Police Department."

Shortly before the group's press conference Wednesday, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block released a statement condemning the violence that broke out Tuesday night.

In his statement, Block called the "attack on our students, faculty and community members… utterly unacceptable."

For the demonstrators, though, Block's statement was insufficient.

Fighting at UCLA as security stand still

Brawls broke out on UCLA's campus right outside the fences of a pro-Palestine encampment. As fists were flying and fire crackers were being tossed around, a private security firm (not to be confused with LAPD and UC schools' campus cops) stood still just a short distance away.

They said the "physical violence" as Block put it in his statement, was "an incredible underrepresentation of what happened." They also criticized the university's statement Tuesday, threatening suspension and dismissal for those who participated in the campus demonstrations.

After Tuesday night's attack, demonstrators said their encampment will not go anywhere until their demands are met.

"The university has been forced to meet us at the bargaining table," the group said. "The aggression that we faced last night shows that the university has no choice to just stand by and wait for us to get killed by Zionist aggressors. They have to meet us at the bargaining table. They have to meet our demands. If they want our encampment to go away, that's how they're going to get it — when they divest, disclose, boycott."

With the dispersal order issued around 6 p.m. Wednesday, demonstrators were told anyone who doesn't leave will be arrested.

UCLA also canceled classes Wednesday due to the violent protest.