US President Joe Biden called on pro-Palestinian demonstrators on university campuses to uphold the rule of law.
Biden spoke directly for the first time about the wave of student riots, saying from the White House: “We are a civil society and order must prevail.”
Police have detained more than 2,000 people at university rallies and protest camps across the country in the past two weeks.
This includes 209 people arrested at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) early Thursday morning.
Hundreds of police in riot gear moved into UCLA's main campus before dawn and cleared the pro-Palestinian camp.
They set off flash bangs and smoke bombs, loaded protesters onto police buses and tore down makeshift fences and tents erected on campus a week earlier.
In a statement, UCLA called the camp “illegal and in violation of policy. It created a dangerous situation on campus and compromised our ability to carry out our mission.”
The report said that while “protesters directly disrupted instruction by blocking students' access to classrooms,” clashes with pro-Israel counter-protesters “prompted too much. ” he added. [students] cause harm. ”
Hours later, Biden addressed the nationwide protests, saying, “We're not an authoritarian country that silences people and crushes dissent. But we're also not a lawless nation.
“People have a right to protest, but not a right to cause chaos. People have a right to an education, a right to a degree, a right to walk across campus safely without fear of being attacked.”
The Uncommitted National Movement, a group of Arab voters opposed to Biden's re-election campaign this year, accused him of “denigrating” anti-war protesters.
“It's clear that Mr. Biden is not listening to the voices of young people across the country and the more than 500,000 uncommitted voters who are demanding a change of course,” Abbas Allawi said in a statement. I hope they listen to our voices.”
Campus protests in support of Gaza have now spread to nearly 140 universities in at least 45 states and universities in at least six countries, according to a BBC tally.
Protesters calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict are also demanding academic institutions and economic withdrawal from Israel, as well as companies seeking to profit from the conflict.
But violence has broken out on some campuses, and reports of anti-Semitic harassment against Jewish students have increased, with many universities calling in police.
Tensions rose at the University of California, Los Angeles' Westwood main campus Tuesday night when a masked pro-Israel group invaded a tent camp in Dixon Plaza and attacked campers with bats, tear gas and other weapons.
Police appeared to be slow in their actions, and their response was criticized by students, observers, and some political leaders.
After regaining control of the area on Wednesday, law enforcement established a tight security cordon.
Authorities had already declared an “unlawful assembly” and officers moved in early Thursday morning.
Some demonstrators were seen locking their arms and using plywood barriers as makeshift shields as police breached the perimeter, while others wore helmets and took umbrellas. It looked like he was armed with.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was in an “incident command post” with campus law enforcement officers throughout the operation.
“Harassment, vandalism, and violence have no place at UCLA or anywhere in our city,” she said in a statement.
Kenza, a UCLA student who participated in the protest and did not want to give his last name, told the BBC that the campground was “completely peaceful.”
“It is absolutely ridiculous that we are considered a threat to civil society when the reality is that we have been harassed for the past week,” she said.
UCLA said campus operations will be limited on Thursday and Friday, and all classes will move to remote learning.
A handful of universities, including Northwestern University, Brown University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Vermont, have reached agreements with protesters over divestment issues.
But in the past 24 hours, arrests have been made at Yale University, Dartmouth College, Stony Brook University, Portland State University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Texas at Dallas.