AUSTIN — Arrests continued into Wednesday evening at the University of Texas after hundreds of students boycotted classes to protest the Gaza war and demand that the university system divest from companies that make machinery used in war.
Shortly after the pro-Palestinian protest began around noon, dozens of National Guard troops and police officers in riot gear, many carrying zip ties and pepper spray, converged on the Austin campus.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement that 34 people had been arrested at the state’s flagship public university as of 9 p.m. But later in the night, George Robb, an attorney with the Austin Bar Association, said at least 54 people had been arrested.
Authorities said many were facing trespassing charges. The DPS post also said state police had been called to the campus at the request of Gov. Greg Abbott.
Students began filing out of their classrooms just before noon and gathered outside Gregory Gymnasium. They eventually made their way to the South Mall in front of the University of Texas Tower, continuing to march forward despite police attempts to stop them.
State troopers, some of whom carried assault rifles, and others were on horseback, could be heard at times ordering students to leave or face arrest.
Students yelled back at the officers, “Get off campus!”
Abbott posted “Arrests are currently being made and will continue until the crowd disperses. These protesters should be in jail. Anti-Semitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period,” one social media post said late Wednesday.
“Students who take part in hateful anti-Semitic protests at Texas public universities should be expelled,” he said.
In addition to the protesters, a video journalist covering the incident was also arrested.
Students who organized the UT rally said on social media that they planned to walk away from classes to “demand divestment now and take back our space.”
Fuji Sid, 23, a fourth-year business student, said today’s protest was to bring awareness to the fact that Gazans are “being killed and massacred simply for existing, for being born in a particular place.”
Sid said what is happening in Gaza is genocide and he wants the killing to stop.
“Imagine leaving your home every day to go to work and one day there’s a barricade and you have to go through a checkpoint,” he said.[Palestinians] They have faced constant discrimination in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel.”
University of Texas President Jay Hartzell released a statement late Wednesday saying the university has “rigorously enforced our rules while upholding the constitutional right to free speech. Peaceful protest within the bounds of the rules will be tolerated. Breaking rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn will not be tolerated.”
Hartzell said the student group leading the protests had made it clear in advance that they intended to “occupy” the campus, which is a violation of university rules.
“The protesters sought to carry out their stated intention of occupying the campus. They were joined by individuals not affiliated with the University of Texas, and many ignored constant requests from university officials to exercise restraint and disperse immediately,” Hartzell said. “The university acted as we promised to do in the face of prohibited actions.”
Eric Lara, 20, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said he was on his way to the gym in the afternoon when he came across the protests, and within minutes, he said, the peaceful rally seemed to turn into people being arrested.
“I didn’t expect it to escalate to this extent,” he said, “and I didn’t expect the police to get so involved in what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. When you have a lot of aggressive people around, especially on horseback, it’s not very peaceful.”
University of Texas officials said in an earlier letter that they would not tolerate disruptions “like those seen on other campuses.” A spokesperson for the university’s student affairs department said in a statement: “This is a critical time for students to complete their classes and study for final exams, and we are acting first and foremost to ensure that these essential functions can proceed uninterrupted.”
Lara added that students were upset that University of Texas President Jay Hartzell had not spoken out about the Gaza war, which was one of the reasons for the protests.
KXAN News reported that a letter sent by the University of Texas Division of Student Affairs to the student organization Palestine Solidarity Committee informed the committee that students would not be allowed to hold events on campus.
“Failure to comply may result in arrest,” the letter said, adding that the group has “expressed its intention to violate our policies and rules and disrupt campus operations” with a rally planned for Wednesday.
Meanwhile in North Texas, dozens of students at the University of Texas at Arlington walked out of the school on Wednesday, gathering in front of the campus library. Social media videos showed the students holding signs and banners that read, “Stop Arming Israel.”
About 100 University of Dallas students occupied the university’s headquarters building for several hours on Tuesday, demanding that university officials stop investing in companies that are supplying weapons to the Gaza conflict.
The rally saw students singing songs, writing letters to school officials and doing their homework the night before it was announced that campus presidents would be meeting with students. UTD students said they were also protesting Governor Abbott’s executive order aimed at combating anti-Semitism and ordering schools to update their free speech policies.
In an order issued in early April, Abbott said he wanted university officials to institute penalties, including expulsion, and “ensure that groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Committee and Students for Justice for Palestine face disciplinary action if they violate these policies.”
This week’s protests in Texas came days after a student at Columbia University in New York was arrested and charged with trespassing.
Protests have been taking place at universities across the country since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to the Israeli government. In the months since, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip multiple times, killing more than 34,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Dallas Morning News These figures cannot be independently verified.
At UT, many students wore keffiyeh scarves, a symbol of support for the Palestinians, and some students began pitching tents on the South Mall.
“You won’t scare us,” the student crowd yelled at the officers. “We are the people!” “We pay your salary.”
Jasmine Santira, 20, a sophomore accounting major, said she saw students peacefully protesting when police showed up.
“They weren’t throwing anything, they weren’t hurting anybody,” she said, “and then the cops came and arrested quite a few people. On what charges?”
Meanwhile, dozens of students holding Israeli flags and placards looked on nearby, including 19-year-old freshman Corey Teitel.
“It is wonderful [the police] “They’re on our side,” the business major said. “They see what’s going on in the Ivy League and they think it’s pretty scary, so I feel safer overall.”
Teitel said his mother called him, concerned for his safety as a Jewish student.
“Today, three girls started screaming at me, telling me to burn the flag,” he said of the small Israeli flag he was carrying. “I don’t think you should be arrested for just standing there. But everyone who’s been arrested [done something].”
By evening, the South Mall was closed off with a wall of police barring entry.
Groups and politicians across the country are watching the protests unfold at the University of Texas and other campuses.
“While we fully respect the need to maintain campus security and ensure the safety of those on campus, what we saw today went far beyond that and left many on college campuses feeling fearful and intimidated,” Gary Bledsoe of the Texas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Brian Evans of the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors said in a joint statement.
“This is a sudden and extremely disturbing escalation at The University of Texas at Austin that appears to be driven by the actions of students on other campuses,” Kristen Shahberdian, director of Penn America’s Campus Free Speech Program, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Shaimaa Zayan, director of operations for the Austin chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement that law enforcement must prioritize de-escalation tactics and constructive dialogue during peaceful protests.
“Arresting peaceful students sends the wrong message and will only exacerbate tensions,” Zayan said.
When asked by a reporter if the White House had concerns about police response during the protests, spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said she didn’t know how the situation was being handled on the ground, as incidents were happening at the University of Texas as she spoke.
“But we obviously want this to be peaceful. We understand this is very disturbing,” she said. “It should not be violent.”
Philip Jankowski and Sue Ambrose contributed to this report.
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