At least 12 arrested as police remove anti-Israel demonstrators who barricaded themselves inside of campus building.
By World Israel News Staff
Police cleared out an anti-Israel encampment at the University of California, Irvine, after protesters entered a building on campus and barricaded themselves inside on Wednesday afternoon.
The school, which is located in the heavily Republican Orange County district south of Los Angeles, immediately called law enforcement for assistance in removing the students illegally occupying the building.
Live-streamed footage of the removal showed officer taking several people into custody. Afterwards, local media reported that at least 12 demonstrators were detained.
Other protesters refused to leave the area, clashing with law enforcement and chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Beto Mendez, a student at the school, told Fox News Digital that he believed many of the protesters were from outside of the student body.
“The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is continuing to work with law enforcement to monitor all protest-related activity in Orange County, including today’s protest at the University of California, Irvine,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer wrote in a X post.
Spitzer stressed that violence or vandalism “of any kind” would not be “tolerated” by the authorities.
“The right to peaceful assembly is a constitutional right, and we encourage protesters to exercise their right to peaceful assembly; however, criminal activity which transcends peaceful assembly, including violence and vandalism of any kind, will not be tolerated,” he continued
“Any evidence of criminal activity, including failure to obey lawful orders to disperse, will be investigated and thoroughly reviewed to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed,” Spitzer said.
UC Irvine released a statement on Wednesday evening urging students to stay away from campus and announced that they were switching to remote learning for the duration of Thursday.
“Protest activity continues,” the school warned. “Please avoid the area until further notice.”