How pro-Palestine protest at California's UCLA turned into a violent brawl

People grappling with one another, trading punches with one another, kicking each other and using sticks to beat one another.

These aren’t scenes from a bar brawl but from America’s esteemed University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) when pro-Israel supporters attacked an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters, prompting the Los Angeles Police Department to intervene and separate the duelling groups.

The move comes a day after police burst into a building at Columbia Universit y in New York that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that had paralysed the school while inspiring others.

Here’s what we know about the unrest.

What happened?

Just as Columbia University has a pro-Palestine encampment on campus, so does UCLA. In fact, the college has seen protests over the war in Gaza for the past week. And many students state that they have been largely peaceful. Meghna Nair, a second-year student at UCLA, told The Guardian: “It was beautiful. It was really amazing to see so many young people come together like that all on their own. The amount of support and passion that they had was just overflowing.”

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However, things turned for the worst late Tuesday night. A group of masked and hooded people were seen marching towards the encampment post-midnight on Tuesday. They threw fireworks and violently attacking students. Video footage shows several of them wielding long sticks and attacking those inside the encampment.

“Pepper spray, mace, boards, bricks, fireworks, not firecrackers — fireworks were shot directly at students and exploded at ground level inside the encampment,” Vincent Doehr, a UCLA political science PhD student and Encampment Media Liaison, told CNN.

Daniel Harris, a fourth-year student, describing the scenes unfolding at the university said that it resembled like something from The Purge marching toward the encampment.

Anna, a spokesperson for the encampment said dozens of pro-Palestine protesters were injured or pepper-sprayed in the attack. “They were coming at us with metal pipes. Numerous people went to the hospital because of how badly they were injured. One person left in a wheelchair. Another had their hand completely smashed.”

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While there is no official data on the number of injured, CNN reports that 15 people were injured and one hospitalised following the attacks.

A student who identified himself only as Yusef said that he had been hit in the head twice during the attack on the encampment, and was left with stitches on his forehead and 14 staples in the back of his head.

But who were the counter-demonstrators?

It is still unknown as to who exactly were the people who marched towards the encampment and then tried to break it down. However, witnesses say that some of them carried Israeli flags, but didn’t appear to be students. Others said that many of them had been on campus on several occasions.

The encampment was attacked “by a group of violent agitators,” Kaia Shah, a 23-year-old political science post-graduate researcher who was in the encampment told AFP. “I don’t even think it’s appropriate to call them counter-protesters anymore because they are not protesting, they come here in a mob-like fashion and violently harass us.”

Daniel Harris, a 23-year-old jazz student, told AFP the hooded and masked attackers appeared to be “in the 20- to 35-year-old range and didn’t look like students or people that had anything to do with the university.”

Assistant professor Elizabeth O’Brien said she had seen “outside agitators” chanting slogans like “USA, USA” and “Fake News” and initiating the violence. “I saw middle-aged men attacking young students hiding behind umbrellas,” she said. “The students absolutely did not initiate any attack.”

What about college authorities and police?

As per students’ accounts inside the encampment, the attack on them took place partly under the gaze of the police, who stepped in several hours after the violence began. In fact, Anna told Al Jazeera, “They did nothing.”

Members of the UCLA Radio News Department echoed similar statements, saying campus police did little to help the pro-Palestinian encampment. “As students were being relentlessly harassed by counter-protesters, the campus security and the University of California Police Department (UCPD) continued to watch and not engage. No efforts were made to protect the students of UCLA,” they wrote.

It was after a few hours that the police wearing helmets and face shields formed lines and slowly separated the groups.

As the scenes of violence unfolded, California governor Gavin Newsom condemned the violence and the slow response from law enforcement.

In a statement, Newsom said: “The limited and delayed campus law enforcement response at UCLA last night was unacceptable – and it demands answers.”

Governor @GavinNewsom statement on the violence that unfolded at @UCLA.

The right to free speech does not extend to inciting violence, vandalism, or lawlessness on campus. pic.twitter.com/6XCicntdEp

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) May 1, 2024

Later, the Los Angeles Police Department stated that no arrests had been made. It further added, “The Los Angeles Police Department, along with other local law-enforcement agencies will remain in the area to ensure public safety until the situation is resolved.”

Gene Block, UCLA’s chancellor, in his reaction described the counter-protesters as “instigators” who attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment. “However one feels about the encampment, this attack on our students, faculty and community members was utterly unacceptable,” he said.

“No one at this university should have to encounter such violence.”

He pledged a “thorough investigation that may lead to arrests, expulsions and dismissals,” and said the university would also be “carefully examining our own security processes.”

What is happening on campus now?

Following the violence, there is an uneasy calm on campus. Classes will be remote on Thursday and Friday, the university said on its public safety website. “Employees are encouraged to work remotely wherever possible and should consult with their supervisors. Events and research activities are encouraged to go remote or be rescheduled wherever possible,” a website update posted Wednesday evening read.

CNN citing a source has reported that law enforcement has declared an unlawful assembly for the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. This is usually a step the policy take before ordering individuals to disperse or face arrest.

What about other universities?

And it’s not just UCLA. Tensions continue to brew at college campuses across the country. State police has been deployed to the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College due to “illegal activity and at the request of local law enforcement,” the New Hampshire Department of Safety said.

Meanwhile, approximately 16 people have been arrested after a pro-Palestine protest at the University at Buffalo’s North Campus.

Fordham University has also called on the police after some intruded into the college building. Some 15 people have been arrested. Arrests have also been made at the University of Texas at Dallas campus. Protesters began making an encampment on campus on Wednesday morning. Officials gave a written notice to “remove all tents and structures,” which they refused, a spokesperson with UT Dallas told CNN in an email.

Law enforcement removed the encampment and arrested at least 17 individuals for criminal trespass. It is unclear if any of these individuals are students.

At City College of New York, demonstrators smashed glass doors, graffitied walls and ransacked public property.

The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Students are demanding that the college administrations divest from Israel.

With inputs from agencies