Tension grows on UCLA campus as police order dispersal of large pro-Palestinian gathering

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Pro-Israel counter-protesters clashed on Wednesday morning with demonstrators in the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA. (AP video by Ethan Swope)

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Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters clashed in Los Angeles on the campus of UCLA on Wednesday in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide.

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Police in riot gear moved onto the UCLA campus in Los Angeles amid violence between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters on Wednesday. People threw chairs and shoved and kicked one another. Some armed with sticks beat others. Before the riot police arrived, a group piled on one person who lay on the ground, kicking and beating them until others pulled them out of the scrum.

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As a student protest movement over the Israel war in Gaza roils campuses across the U.S., millions of students in other schools have continued with their daily routines of working their way through school, socializing and studying for exams. (AP Video shot by Charles Krupa)

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Students speak out after counter-protesters “forcefully” attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Wednesday. (AP video by Rick Taber)(AP produced by Javier Arciga)

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Demonstrators lock arms on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Demonstrators gather on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Demonstrators wave flags on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Protesters against the war in Gaza confront law enforcement personnel during demonstrations on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

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Law enforcement personnel clash with demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza as they work to remove a non-sanctioned encampment on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

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Demonstrators against the war in Gaza clash with law enforcement personnel during demonstrations on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

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Demonstrators restore a protective barrier at an encampment on the UCLA campus, the morning after clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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A person stands at a Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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Posters surround an encampment established by University of New Mexico students and supporters who are protesting the Israel-Hamas war, on the main campus in Albuquerque, N,M., on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

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Students walk by one of the spray-painted messages left by those protesting the Israel-Hamas war on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Sixteen people, including five students, were arrested earlier this week when they occupied the Student Union Building, causing damage inside. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick speaks outside a Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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An officer stands outside a Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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Police stage on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Demonstrators hold signs on the UCLA campus, the morning after clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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A woman paints on a barrier during a protest set up in a plaza at the University of Texas at Dallas, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Richardson, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

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Protesters demonstrating against the war in Gaza circle a tent as law enforcement personnel prepare to remove an encampment on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

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Madison Police carry a demonstrator protesting the war in Gaza as they work to remove a non-sanctioned encampment on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

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Police push back on demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza as they work to remove a non-sanctioned encampment on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

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Police detain a demonstrator protesting the war in Gaza as they work to remove a non-sanctioned encampment on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

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UCLA professor Nick Shapiro speaks at a news conference on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - A pro-Palestinian protester sits near a barricade outside Millar Library on the Portland State University campus Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Sunday and Monday barricaded an entrance to the library using construction fencing, wood pallets, garbage cans and other debris. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

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A pro-Palestinian protester paints on a column at Millar Library on the Portland State University campus Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

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Demonstrators lock arms on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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A demonstrator shields themselves behind a barricade at an encampment on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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Demonstrators gather on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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A group prays on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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A Palestinian flag is waved as protesters gather on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Demonstrators hold a press briefing on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Demonstrators gather on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Demonstrators wave signs and flags on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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A Demonstrator holds a sign on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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Pro-Palestinian protesters begin to march on the campus of St. Louis University, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in St. Louis. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

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A pro-Palestinian protester holds up a peace sign during a march on the campus of St. Louis University, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in St. Louis. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

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Pro-Palestinian protesters rally at St. Louis University, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in St. Louis. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

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Pro-Palestinian protesters block Grand Boulevard near St. Louis University, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in St. Louis. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

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Pro-Palestinian protesters, including ones holding a sign tying Boeing and the United States to thousands of deaths in Gaza, march on the campus of St. Louis University, Wednesday night, May 1, 2024, in St. Louis. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ, KRYSTA FAURIA, JOSEPH B. FREDERICK, ETHAN SWOPE and ETHAN SWOPE

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Law enforcement on the UCLA campus donned riot gear Wednesday evening as they ordered the dispersal of over a thousand people who had gathered in support of a pro-Palestinian student encampment, warning over loudspeakers that anyone who refused to leave could face arrest.

A large crowd of students, alumni and neighbors gathered on campus steps outside the barricaded area of tents, sitting as they listened and applauded various speakers and joined in pro-Palestinian chants. Overheard television cameras showed students in the barricaded area passing out goggles and helmets, as well as setting up medical aid stations. A small group of students holding signs and wearing T-shirts in support of Israel and Jewish people gathered nearby.

The law enforcement presence and continued warnings stood in contrast to the scene that unfolded the night before, when counter-demonstrators attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones, releasing pepper spray and tearing down barriers. Fighting continued for several hours before police stepped in, and no one was arrested. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries, and the tepid response by authorities drew criticism from political leaders as well as Muslim students and advocacy groups.

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Ray Wiliani, who lives nearby, said he came to UCLA on Wednesday evening to support the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

“We need to take a stand for it,” he said. “Enough is enough.”

Elsewhere, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, activists clashed with police officers who destroyed their tents early Wednesday, and police dismantled an encampment at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire just hours after pro-Palestinian demonstrators put up a handful of tents. Officers arrested multiple people, including at least one professor, according to local media reports.

The chaotic scenes unfolded early Wednesday after police burst into a building occupied by anti-war protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday night, breaking up a demonstration that had paralyzed the New York school.

An Associated Press tally counted at least 38 times since April 18 where arrests were made at campus protests across the U.S. More than 1,600 people have been arrested at 30 schools.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement that “a group of instigators” perpetrated the previous night’s attack, but he did not provide details about the crowd or why the administration and school police did not act sooner.

“However one feels about the encampment, this attack on our students, faculty and community members was utterly unacceptable,” he said. “It has shaken our campus to its core.”

Block promised a review of the night’s events after California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Los Angeles mayor denounced the delays.

“The community needs to feel the police are protecting them, not enabling others to harm them,” Rebecca Husaini, chief of staff for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said in a news conference on the Los Angeles campus later Wednesday, where some Muslim students detailed the overnight events.

Speakers disputed the university’s account that 15 people were injured and one hospitalized, saying the number of people taken to the hospital was higher. One student described needing to go to the hospital after being hit in the head by an object wielded by counter-protesters.

Several students who spoke during the news conference said they had to rely on each other, not the police, for support as they were attacked, and that many in the pro-Palestinian encampment remained peaceful and did not engage with counter-protesters. UCLA canceled classes Wednesday.

Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in a student movement unlike any other this century. The ensuing police crackdowns echoed actions decades ago against a much larger protest movement protesting the Vietnam War.

In Madison, a scrum broke out early Wednesday after police with shields removed all but one tent and shoved protesters. Four officers were injured, including a state trooper who was hit in the head with a skateboard, authorities said. Four were charged with battering law enforcement.

This is all playing out in an election year in the U.S., raising questions about whether young voters — who are critical for Democrats — will back President Joe Biden’s reelection effort, given his staunch support of Israel.

In rare instances, university officials and protest leaders struck agreements to restrict the disruption to campus life and upcoming commencement ceremonies.

At Brown University in Rhode Island, administrators agreed to consider a vote to divest from Israel in October — apparently the first U.S. college to agree to such a demand.

The nationwide campus demonstrations began at Columbia on April 17 to protest Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry there.

Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.

Late Tuesday, New York City police officers entered Columbia’s campus and cleared an encampment, along with Hamilton Hall, where a stream of officers used a ladder to climb through a second-floor window, and police said protesters inside presented no substantial resistance.

The demonstrators had seized the Ivy League school building about 20 hours earlier, ramping up their presence on the campus from a tent encampment that had been there for nearly two weeks.

They encountered police clearing tents early on, as well as more than 100 arrests and threats of suspension unless they abandoned the encampment Monday. Instead, protesters took over Hamilton Hall early Tuesday.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams blamed “outside agitators” on Wednesday for leading the demonstrations and repeatedly cited the presence of a woman on Columbia’s campus whose husband Adams said had been “convicted for terrorism.” The woman, Nahla Al-Arian, wasn’t on Columbia’s campus this week and isn’t among the protesters who were arrested.

Al-Arian, a retired elementary school teacher, told The Associated Press that Adams misstated both her role in the protests and the facts about her husband, Sami Al-Arian, a prominent Palestinian activist. Nahla Al-Arian said she did go to Columbia for one day on April 25 to see the protest encampment there but left after she got tired.

Meanwhile, protest encampments elsewhere were cleared by the police, resulting in arrests, or closed up voluntarily at schools across the U.S., including The City College of New York, Fordham University in New York, Portland State in Oregon, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona and Tulane University in New Orleans.

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An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that New York City Mayor Eric Adams said a woman on Columbia’s campus had been “convicted for terrorism.” Adams said that about the husband of a woman who had been on campus.

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Offenhartz and Frederick reported from New York. Associated Press journalists around the country contributed to this report, including John Antczak, Christopher L. Keller, Lisa Baumann, Cedar Attanasio, Jonathan Mattise, Stefanie Dazio, Jae C. Hong, Colleen Long, Karen Matthews, Sarah Brumfield, Carolyn Thompson, Philip Marcelo, Corey Williams and Felicia Fonseca.