Hundreds of helmeted police swarmed the site of a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of California at Los Angeles early on Thursday, firing flash bangs, arresting defiant demonstrators and dismantling their encampment.
The pre-dawn police crackdown at UCLA marked the latest flashpoint in mounting tensions on U.S. college campuses, where protests over Israel’s war in Gaza have led to student clashes with each other and with law enforcement.
“I’m a student here. I’m an English major,” one student said to television cameras, as police dragged him away. “Please don’t fail us. Don’t fail us.”
Live TV footage showed officers taking down tents, tearing apart barricades and removing the encampment, while arrested protesters sat with their hands restrained behind their backs with zip-ties.
I didn’t realize there was a time, place and manner for us to freely express ourselves in protest. I thought it was an American thing to protest. Not anymore I guess.
Even first amendment rights are not unlimited. Regardless of how you feel, it’s just a simple constitutional matter. This is like middle school civics stuff.
Public universities are public property and publicly funded. There is a right to protest there.
With reasonable restrictions on time, place and matter decided by the university.