Pro-Palestinian protesters again attempted to establish an encampment on the UCLA campus Monday, prompting a rapid police response and declaration of an unlawful assembly.
Protesters initially gathered on the campus for a funeral-procession-like march in honor of the “over 46,000 Palestinians who have been martyred or buried under the rubble” in the Israel-Hamas war. After that procession, which included people carrying fake bloody bodies and body parts, the group began amassing in the Dickson Plaza area, the site of an earlier massive encampment that stayed in place for more than a week before it was dismantled by police in an operation that resulted in more than 200 arrests.
Protesters on Monday again began erecting tents in the plaza, and at one point stood in formation at the top of the Janss Steps that lead into the plaza to prevent people from entering. Protesters also dyed the water in a plaza fountain red.
University police and campus security officers were quick to respond to the area and used bicycles in an effort to prevent more protesters from entering the area.
A UCPD officers told the Daily Bruin campus newspaper that the gathering had already been declared an unlawful assembly by shortly after 4 p.m.
There were no immediate reports of any arrests or injuries.