UCLA canceled classes Wednesday after violence raged during overnight hours as counter-protesters launched an offensive on a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus, marking the worst clashes since the occupation began a week ago and raising questions about what appeared to be a delayed law enforcement response to quell the unrest.
“Due to the distress caused by the violence that took place on Royce Quad late last night and early this morning, all classes are canceled today. Please avoid the Royce Quad area,” the university posted on X at 8:21 a.m. Wednesday.
The situation escalated late Tuesday night when a group of counter-protesters attacked the encampment, which first emerged on the UCLA campus last Thursday. Video from the scene showed fireworks being tossed into or fired toward the encampment, and counter-protesters tore away parts of the wooden barricades surrounding the pro-Palestinian group.
People were seen attacking others with sticks, and the violence continued seemingly unchecked by police, with counter-protesters doing their best to invade the encampment. Pepper spray or bear repellent was also reportedly deployed, although it was unclear by whom, although protesters in the encampment could be seen using umbrellas in an apparent attempt to shield themselves from any airborne chemicals.
Police in riot gear eventually moved in around 3 a.m. and managed to separate the warring factions and restore order. It was unclear if there were any arrests. Video showed several people nursing injuries from the clashes, but the severity was unclear.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, paramedics responded to the area of Hayes Hall on the UCLA campus at 11:29 p.m. Tuesday, and took a man in his mid-20s to a hospital for treatment of a head injury in unknown condition. The source of the injury was unclear. At 1:27 a.m. Wednesday, LAFD personnel went to the campus at the request of UCLA police to be on standby, but no additional patients were taken to hospitals.
“The violence unfolding this evening at UCLA is absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable. LAPD has arrived on campus,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement released early Wednesday. Bass, who was in Washington, D.C., this week discussing homelessness and lobbying for housing dollars, cut her trip short to return to Los Angeles Wednesday morning in response to the violence. Bass had not been scheduled to return to Los Angeles until Friday.
In a statement issued shortly after midnight, Mary Osako, vice chancellor for UCLA strategic communications, said, “Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support. The fire department and medical personnel are on the scene. We are sickened by this senseless violence and it must end.”
Some officials, however, questioned the university and law enforcement response to the unrest. Reports from the scene indicated that police were on hand as the violence unfolded but did not immediately intervene, allowing fights and attacks on the encampment to continue mostly unfettered until officers in riot gear moved in around 3 a.m.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office issued a statement Wednesday morning saying, “The limited and delayed campus law enforcement response at UCLA last night was unacceptable and it demands answers. As soon as it became clear that state assistance was needed to support a local response, our office immediately deployed (California Highway Patrol) personnel to campus.”
Newsom himself issued a statement condemning the violence that erupted on the campus.
“The law is clear: The right to free speech does not extend to inciting violence, vandalism or lawlessness on campus,” he said. “Those who engage in illegal behavior must be held accountable for their actions — including through criminal prosecution, suspension or expulsion.”
Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Hollywood, whose district includes the campus, also lashed out at UCLA administrators, saying he and his staff have “pled” with the university for adequate security measures to protect students.
“While we continue to gather all the facts, one thing is abundantly clear: the UCLA Administration has failed in their most important duty — to protect the safety, wellbeing, and civil rights of all students on campus,” Zbur said.
University officials on Tuesday insisted that security had been ramped up at UCLA following other clashes that occurred Monday night and Tuesday morning between the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters. The university on Tuesday also issued written warning notices to people inside the encampment, saying the gathering is unlawful and could lead to disciplinary action for students, including suspension and expulsion.
The warning also said it is illegal for people unaffiliated with the university to be taking part in the encampment, and any such people need to leave the area immediately or potentially face misdemeanor charges. The warning noted that police were standing by, but there was no indication of when or if law enforcement might move to disperse the encampment.
By mid-morning Wednesday, order had largely been restored on the campus, with no signs of any clashes. But there was a noticeably large law enforcement presence.
The Jewish Federation Los Angeles said in a statement it was appalled at the violence.
“The abhorrent actions of a few counter-protesters last night do not represent the Jewish community or our values. We believe in peaceful, civic discourse. Unfortunately, the violence at UCLA is a result of the lack of leadership from the chancellor and the UCLA administration,” the group’s statement continued. “The chancellor has allowed for an environment to be created over many months that has made students feel unsafe, allowed for illegal encampments in violation of its own laws, refused to censure faculty and staff who flouted UCLA’s Code of Conduct, and has been systemically slow to respond when law enforcement is desperately needed. His failed leadership has enabled the chaos we witnessed last night.”
The group called on the chancellor to close the encampments at UCLA immediately.
The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, meanwhile, issued a statement Wednesday morning condemning the “mob of pro-Israel extremist” who attacked the encampment.
“Free speech should never be met with crimes of hate,” according to CAIR. “The pro-Israel extremists responsible for last night’s violence must be identified and prosecuted.”
The group also called for an investigation into the “lack of response” by campus and Los Angeles police to the violence
“If (protesters) advocating for Palestinian rights and against genocide had engaged in a fraction of the violence perpetrated by the far-right Israeli government’s supporters, there would have been a national outcry,” according to the group. “… This must end. UCLA and other schools must ensure that (protesters) can continue to peacefully protest the genocide in Gaza without facing attacks by violent pro-Israel mobs.”
In addition to canceling classes Wednesday, university officials announced earlier that Royce Hall near the encampment will remain closed until Friday, and students were told to check with their instructors about new locations for classes that normally meet in that building. Powell Library, meanwhile, will remain closed until Monday.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block made his first public comments about the protests Tuesday, saying most demonstrators taking part in protests have been “peaceful in their activism.”
“But the tactics of others have frankly been shocking and shameful,” Block said. “We have seen instances of violence completely at odds with our values as an institution dedicated to respect and mutual understanding. In other cases, students on their way to class have been physically blocked from accessing parts of the campus.
“UCLA supports peaceful protest, but not activism that harms our ability to carry out our academic mission and makes people in our community feel bullied, threatened and afraid. These incidents have put many on our campus, especially our Jewish students, in a state of anxiety and fear.”
Block, echoing an earlier message from the university, said the university has “significantly increased our security presence in the area,” including law enforcement, safety personnel and student affairs “mitigators.”
“We have also engaged law enforcement to investigate the recent acts of violence,” Block said. “The barriers that demonstrators used to block access to buildings have been removed, and we have staff located around Royce Quad to help ensure that they will not go up again. With regard to these incidents, our student conduct process has been initiated, and could lead to disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion.”
He concluded: “I recognize that the suffering in the Middle East has had a profound impact on our campus, and we continue to hope for a peaceful resolution. While Bruins hold a variety of perspectives on this conflict, we must all protect the wellbeing of our peers and maintain an environment safe for learning. This is a commitment I call on our community to uphold as we navigate the weeks ahead.”
Block, who is stepping down as chancellor at the end of July, is expected to testify before Congress on May 23 about the campus’ response to antisemitism and actions to protect Jewish students.
University of California system President Michael Drake issued a statement Tuesday saying he “fully” supported UCLA informing participants in the encampment that the encampment is unlawful and violates university policy.
“The University of California must be as flexible as it can involving matters of free expression, including expression of viewpoints that some find deeply offensive,” Drake said. “But when that expression blocks the ability of students to learn or to express their own viewpoints, when it meaningfully disrupts the functioning of the university, or when it threatens the safety of students, or anyone else, we must act.
“There are countless ways to protest lawfully, and the University of California campuses will work with students, faculty and staff to make space available and do all we can to protect these protests and demonstrations. But disruptive unlawful protests that violate the rights of our fellow citizens are unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.”
Osako had issued a statement Tuesday saying the university is investigating alleged actions by campus protesters that blocked a student’s ability to attend class on Monday, calling such actions “abhorrent” and warning that they “could lead to severe disciplinary action including expulsion or suspension.”
Barriers that were used by demonstrators to block the student’s access “have been removed and we have staff located around Royce Quad to help ensure that they will not go up again,” Osako said. “We have also engaged law enforcement to investigate.
Organizers of UCLA’s Palestine Solidarity Encampment, similar to their counterparts at USC, issued a list of demands calling for divestment of all University of California and UCLA Foundation funds from companies tied to Israel, along with a demand that the university call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and begin an academic boycott against Israeli universities, including a suspension of study-abroad programs.
The UC issued a statement Friday noting that the university has “consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel. While the university affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.
“UC tuition and fees are the primary funding sources for the University’s core operations. None of these funds are used for investment purposes,” the statement continued.