Dozens of officers removed an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of California, Santa Barbara campus early Sunday, according to videos and posts by the protest group on social media.
University officials did not respond to calls Sunday afternoon. Officials had sent word to the group, which calls itself the UCSB Liberated Zone, that the encampment violated university policies and that protesters were trespassing.
According to the group posts On Instagram, dozens of officers arrived on campus shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday morning. Police “gave four dispersal notices to the campers and then began advancing toward the camp,” the protest group said.
Later video shows Workers throwing tents into a large garbage truck.
The group said six protesters had been arrested, but that could not immediately be confirmed with officials Sunday afternoon.
In April, hundreds of protesters occupied the university's student resources building on Thursday for a day-long series of workshops, art projects and other actions to express solidarity with Palestinians, call for a ceasefire and demand an end to investments related to Israel. Protesters set up camps in May.
Sunday's police operation was the latest after weeks of protests by pro-Palestinian demonstrators at universities across the country.
