UCLA Calls the Cops as Violence Erupts Between Clashing Protest Groups
Police officers were called to quell violent scenes that broke out on the UCLA campus late Tuesday as opposing groups of protesters brawled inside the pro-Palestine encampment.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed early Wednesday that its officers were helping to “restore order and maintain public safety.” It said it was acting at the request of UCLA “due to multiple acts of violence within the large encampment on their campus.”
The trouble started shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday when a group of counter-protesters surrounded the encampment, according to KABC, hours after the university declared the encampment “unlawful” and urged students to leave or face sanctions. Barricades around the encampment were torn down by counter-protesters, and people were seen throwing fireworks and using sticks as weapons during the ensuing clashes.