Police crackdown continues against pro-Palestine students in the US

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
2 May 2024 10:27
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As the student movement for Gaza persists across US universities, police have been taking extreme measures to try and disintegrate pro-Palestine protests.

Demonstrators lock arms near a main gate at Columbia University in New York on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, as New York City police officers move to clear the area. (AP)

On Wednesday, police raided and tore down a student encampment on the campus of the University of Texas, leading to the arrests of dozens of students protesting "Israel's" genocide in the Gaza Strip and their universities' complicit role.

At Fordham University, several students were arrested at a campus encampment following a police crackdown. Law enforcement was also deployed on standby near Columbia University following an earlier round of arrests against students.

Following a warning from the President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology threatening students who were protesting with disciplinary measures should they fail to shut down their on-campus encampment, protesters dug in, blocking an avenue in center-campus during rush hour.

At the University of California, Los Angeles, police patrolled the vicinity after pro-"Israel" mobs attacked a peaceful pro-Palestine encampment.

Moreover, at the University of Texas at Dallas, 17 pro-Palestine students were arrested by police amid an encampment crackdown under charges of "trespassing", the university administration said in a statement.

Less than 24 hours after Columbia university set the NYPD on its own students at Hind’s Hall making numerous arrests and then sweeping the students encampment whilst the protesters were detained, Columbia students remain undeterred even from outside of their campus. pic.twitter.com/mk9B2vE6qM
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) May 2, 2024

Police to keep the peace?

Students arrested on the campuses of Columbia and City University of New York (CUNY) relayed to AFP the police brutality they were subjected to as their authorities tried to dismantle protests overnight.

One CUNY student said, "We were assaulted, brutally arrested. And I was held for up to six hours before being released, pretty banged up, got stomped on, got cut up."

Medical students have been providing medical assistance to students impacted and harmed by the police, describing a myriad of injuries inflicted against protesters, including head traumas and concussions, as well as more severe cases such as unconsciousness. In one case, a student was thrown down the stairs by police officers.

We were violently assaulted and arrested with ~100 others peacefully protesting genocide at Washington University in St. Louis.

Many US police departments - including St. Louis' - are being trained by Israel to use military occupation-style tactics against their own communities. pic.twitter.com/1zGf2R1nW2
— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) April 29, 2024

In an attempt to justify the demand for police brutality against students, Mayor Eric Adams claimed external "agitators" were involved in protests, prompting the call for law enforcement. Columbia students, however, exposed Adams and affirmed that on-campus protests were purely student-led.

University President Minouche Shafik, who was slammed for calling authorities, expressed her "sadness" due to the current situation seen on campus. This comes after the university failed to negotiate with the protesting students to end their demonstrations on campus.

A letter addressed to the students also said that the university would not withdraw Israeli investments, adding that the past seven months have triggered divisions at the university regarding the Israeli war on Gaza.

It is worth noting that at least 300 student arrests were made across Columbia and CUNY.