Police Arrest Anti-Israel Protesters on University of Texas Austin Campus

Hundreds of students walked out of class to protest in support of Palestinians, demanding the university divest from Israel.

Students rally together during a pro-Palestine protest at The University of Texas in Austin, Texas, on April 24, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Law enforcement officers on Wednesday arrested several people participating in an anti-Israel protest on the University of Texas at Austin campus, The Daily Texan reported on X. One of those arrested is reportedly affiliated with the university.

Hundreds of UT-Austin students gathered outside of Greg Gym after walking out of class in protest of Israel’s strikes on Gaza. They demanded that the university divest from manufacturers that supply weapons to Israel.

Department of Public Safety officials warned the protesters to disperse or face arrest for criminal trespass, KXAN News reported.

“You will disperse immediately, or you will be arrested,” a state trooper on a motorcycle announced over a megaphone to the crowd, as seen in a video shared on social media.

The Palestine Solidarity Committee organized the protest “in the footsteps of our comrades at Columbia SJP, Rutgers-New Brunswick, Yale, and countless others across the nation,” according to the group’s Instagram post. “[W]e will be establishing THE POPULAR UNIVERSITY FOR GAZA and demanding our administration divest from death.”

State troopers on horseback and motorcycles, along with other local authorities on bicycles and on foot, were deployed onto the campus to keep the peace.

By noon, more than 200 students had joined the protest to march to the South Lawn, where they planned to remain for the day.

“We will be occupying the space throughout the entire day, so be sure to bring blankets, food, water, face masks, and lots of energy,” the post continued.

Local authorities did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request to confirm the number of arrests made and other details.

Videos of large crowds chanting and police activity were shared across social media platforms.

Police put up barricades, and other officers on bicycles created blockades in an attempt to control the protesters.

The scene appeared to become more chaotic and, at times, violent, according to multiple videos shared by KXAN-TV news reporter Ryan Chandler.

Protesters refused to leave as the crowd grew larger despite police threats of arrests.

“This protest has at least tripled in size in the last two hours,” Mr. Chandler wrote on X, alongside a video. “The university banned them from protesting on this South lawn, but they are setting up tents. Law enforcement having a hard time breaking it up.”

The students are also demanding that the university administration publicly reject Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order aimed at addressing antisemitism at Texas colleges and universities.

“Antisemitism is never acceptable in Texas, and we will do everything we can to fight it,” said Gov. Abbott in a statement last month. “The State of Texas stands with Israel and the Jewish community, and we must escalate our efforts to protect against antisemitism at Texas colleges and universities and across our state.”

The protest at UT-Austin comes one day after about 100 students at the University of Texas at Dallas staged a sit-in on campus and made similar demands, The Dallas Morning News reported.

“UT Austin does not tolerate disruptions of campus activities or operations like we have seen at other campuses,” a spokesperson for the university’s division of student affairs said in a statement on Wednesday. “This is an important time in our semester with students finishing classes and studying for finals, and we will act first and foremost to allow those critical functions to proceed without interruption.”

On Wednesday night, UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell issued a campus-wide statement regarding the group’s attempt to occupy the South Lawn.

“Today, our University held firm, enforcing our rules while protecting the Constitutional right to free speech. Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable. Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed. The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate Institutional Rules. Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied.

“The protesters tried to deliver on their stated intent to occupy campus. People not affiliated with UT joined them, and many ignored University officials’ continual pleas for restraint and to immediately disperse. The University did as we said we would do in the face of prohibited actions. We were prepared, with the necessary support to maintain campus operations and ensure the safety, well-being and learning environment for our more than 50,000 students.”

Columbia University Protesters Arrested

Last week, police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Monday praised the “peaceful” protests at college campuses during an Earth Day news conference.

“It is especially important that we remember the power of young people shaping this country today, of all days, as we once again witness the leadership of those peaceful student-led protests on campuses like Columbia Yale, Berkely, and many others,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said.

The protesters set up an encampment and have occupied the school’s West Lawn for days. The school has since canceled in-person classes due to mounting antisemitism at the university.

“Anti-Israel protests, Jewish students at Columbia University don’t feel safe,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote Tuesday on X. “It’s become so dangerous that students were forced out of the classroom. Let’s be clear: these are not peaceful protests, these are mobs.”

Harvard, New York University, and Yale have also closed their campuses to the public in an attempt to defuse the mounting tensions.