UCLA protesters set up camps and occupy buildings before police intervene

Pro-Palestinian protesters briefly set up a new camp at the University of California, Los Angeles, then occupied a campus building on Thursday before police in riot gear moved in to break up the protests.

The protests, which drew hundreds of people, took place the same day that UCLA’s chancellor was questioned in a Capitol Hill hearing about his handling of a similar encampment last month.

By the afternoon, about 70 protesters had entered the university’s Dodd Hall building and locked the doors with computer cables and jackets. One protester used a megaphone to order everyone not associated with UCLA to leave the building, acknowledging the ad hoc nature of the protest: “We’re building this plane as we fly it.”

But just hours after protesters entered the building, police in riot gear entered and cleared it – a contrast to the slow response to the demonstrations in late April that Republican lawmakers criticized.

Protesters initially set up a small camp in an area called Kerckhoff Patio on Thursday, but quickly abandoned it after police arrived with helmets and batons. Protesters then fled to an area near Murphy Hall, where about 300 people gathered at one point, and some eventually moved into Dodd Hall.

In recent weeks, student activists have been calling on the university to divest from companies they believe support Israel’s war in Gaza. Their demonstration in April was one of the most high-profile campus protests this year. More than 200 protesters were arrested after a group of pro-Israel counter-protesters attacked the camp. None of the counter-protesters were arrested.

Thursday’s protests were brief and relatively peaceful as police quickly intervened and students fled. The university said it was not aware of any arrests by police.

In a statement, the university said the protesters were “disrupting campus operations” because they had cordoned off part of the campus.

“Protesters have been informed that if they do not disperse, they will face arrest and possible disciplinary action, as well as a seven-day ban from the campus,” officials wrote, adding that the order applies to everyone, regardless of university affiliation.

Thursday’s actions came as UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block and the leaders of Northwestern and Rutgers testified before a Republican-led House committee about allegations of anti-Semitism on their campuses. Dr. Block defended his university’s response to the April camp but also said he was concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism on campuses across the country.

“In hindsight, we should have been prepared to evacuate the camp immediately if the safety of our community was at risk,” said Dr. Block, who will step down from his post as chancellor at the end of July.

He faced tough questions from Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, who wanted to know why none of the counter-protesters who attacked the pro-Palestinian camp last month had been arrested. Dr. Block said the university was investigating the attack.

The UCLA chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine called the hearing “a textbook example of political theater” that “mixed calls for Palestinian liberation with anti-Semitism” to curb pro-Palestinian movements. It condemned the attempt to censor protesters, which it said was “McCarthyism.”