Brutal attacks break out at UCLA pro-Palestine encampment

WARNING: The above video contains graphic violence and foul language and may be disturbing to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

A pro-Palestinian encampment was violently attacked by a group of counter-protesters at UCLA in California early Wednesday morning. Pro-Israel protesters came in the middle of the night and attempted to tear down the barricades set up on the campus and attacked the protesters. This comes just hours after New York City police cleared out the encampments at Columbia University, taking at least 48 people into custody.

Footage of the UCLA encampment shows the counter-protesters using sticks to break down wooden boards being used as barricades to protect the pro-Palestine protesters. There is also video of them throwing fireworks directly into the encampment and brutally beating some protesters.

Insight | U.S. Constitution is clear on peaceful protesting

Police were called in to help, and arrived at around 1:45 a.m. While their presence led some counter-protesters to leave, the officers did not break up the clashes and let the violence go on for some time. At around 3 a.m., officers formed a line around the camp and forced the remaining counter-protesters to leave. California State University professor and founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, Brian Levin, criticized the “inexplicable” delay in action. “What we have here has been an ongoing riot for hours,” Levin said. “It’s gone on so long that a local columnist said ‘even the helicopters had to refuel’. So there’s been an inexplicable delay with regard to law enforcement getting onto the scene in any meaningful way.”

The October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the resulting Israeli attacks on Palestine have resulted in student protests throughout the entire United States, the biggest reaction we’ve seen since the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.