Dozens of protesters formed a pro-Palestinian traveling camp on the UCLA campus Monday afternoon to recite the names of thousands of people who had died in Gaza.
However, after several hours of largely peaceful demonstration, the situation became chaotic: Los Angeles police and private security guards formed a skirmish line and confronted protesters behind barricades.
A crowd formed on the opposite side of the skirmish line, and protesters shouted, “Let them go!”
Police had previously ordered protesters to disperse at least twice, and the crowd quickly dismantled tents and barricades and moved to different locations on campus.
As the protesters marched, one of them read aloud the names of the murdered Palestinians.
“They will not die in vain,” the protesters chanted after each name. “They will be redeemed.”
Some protesters placed roses next to a coffin painted with the Palestinian flag that lay next to fake bloodied corpses. A helicopter was flying over the area.
Many protesters refused to give interviews, saying they were not “media liaisons” or “media trained.”
The event was organized by UCLA Students for Justice in Palestine. Several teachers followed the crowd with a sign showing their support for the students and the demonstration.
Monday's event marked the third pro-Palestinian camp at UCLA in recent weeks, the handling of which has sparked outrage and questions about how ill-prepared the university was for such an event.
The first was organized on April 25, prompting mixed reactions and a largely peaceful counterprotest on April 28.
However, two days later, UCLA declared the camp illegal and ordered campus members to leave or face disciplinary action.
Later that night, a violent mob attacked the camp. The few police officers on duty were quickly overwhelmed and the violence continued for three hours until authorities finally brought the situation under control.
At Monday's demonstration, most protesters wore surgical masks, and those on the edges of the moving encampment carried makeshift wooden shields or laid down chicken wire to barricade themselves. The crowd moved from the outer courtyard of Royce Hall to the bottom of the Tongva stairs. to the courtyard behind Kerckhoff Hall, to a courtyard outside Dodd Hall.
Los Angeles police and private security guards formed a line when an unlawful assembly was declared Monday at UCLA.
(Alene Tchekmedyian / Los Angeles Times)
As night fell, protesters erected their barricades in the courtyard of Dodd Hall. The confrontation escalated when an illegal assembly was declared. Police and guards formed a line, and protesters shouted, “Cops off campus!”
Los Angeles Police Captain Kelly Muniz confirmed to the Times that arrests were made during the protest, but did not provide further details.
UCLA professor Yogita Goyal, who teaches English and African American studies, was among professors on campus Monday expressing support for the protesters. Goyal said police should not have declared an illegal assembly on Monday, or on April 30, when students were protesting peacefully.
“UCLA leadership should be here and should allow our students to express their political opinions.”
