LOS ANGELES, Calif.—On Friday, a group of about a dozen activists physically shoved this reporter from a “Palestinian Solidarity Encampment” on the campus of the public university, the University of California, Los Angeles.
Activists have been camping there since Thursday, setting up barricades made of plywood and scraps of furniture and pitching tents. About 100 pro-Palestinian activists are believed to be inside the encampment as of Friday morning.
Breitbart News arrived to photograph and film the encampment, which is currently surrounded by a metal fence. There were also several other news outlets outside the encampment, including local television news. new york timesothers.
Signs with various slogans, including “Brothers for Palestine,” were posted around and inside the camp. “LAPD, KKK, IOF, they’re all the same,” one banner read. (“IOF” is a derogatory term for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which anti-Israel activists sometimes refer to as the “Israeli Occupation Forces.”)
An illegal barricade at UCLA called the “Palestinian Solidarity Encampment” is decorated with anti-Israel and anti-police banners. Westwood, Los Angeles, California, April 26, 2024 (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
The encampment was guarded at two entrances by activists wearing fluorescent jerseys. Kaffiyeh Or a KN95 mask. This was apparently distributed not only to prevent the spread of the disease, but also to hide the identity of the activists.
Activists in jerseys, masks and keffiyehs guard the entrance to the Palestine Solidarity Encampment at UCLA in Los Angeles, California on April 26, 2024. (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
As seen in a video taken by Breitbart News, one of the guards initially told this journalist that he was wearing a mask and provided that no peanuts or bananas were brought into the encampment (possibly due to an allergy). was allowed to enter.
Joel B. Pollack/Breitbart News
However, seconds later, activists surrounded the journalist and tried to prevent him from filming. A group of about a dozen people linked arms and pushed the journalist toward the entrance several times in front of reporters.
The journalist told members of the media who filmed and took photos of the assault:
Freedom for Palestine clearly does not mean freedom for Americans. These people are not only committing common assault, but also violating the U.S. Constitution and California law. I am a member of the media and a member of society at large. I have the right to attend a public university. This is the First Amendment.And everyone too [journalists] They should be there, refusing to assault journalists. This is a violation of the First Amendment. They claim to be defending Palestinian freedom, but they are violating the most fundamental freedoms of the U.S. Constitution. As a member of the media, and indeed as a member of the public, I have the right to film what is happening at a public university. All journalists should go into the scene and film. You should be taking pictures. We should refuse to be lectured to or at the mercy of undergraduate students who are clearly confused about what it means to be an American citizen.
The First Amendment guarantees the broadest freedom of the press with respect to public property. UCLA is a public university, and the campground is located in the middle of the most public space on campus.
California also has strong press freedom laws, including: protection For journalists reporting during the civil war.
Two people stood nearby holding a banner that read, “UCLA faculty and staff stand with our students.”
Two UCLA employees demonstrate in solidarity with students at UCLA’s Palestine Solidarity Encampment. One person told Breitbart News that he was there primarily to prevent the students from being arrested. Los Angeles, California, April 26, 2024 (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
Asked if he supports students who physically assault members of the media, he declined to take a position.
UCLA’s camp is one of several that have been set up at public and private universities across the country in recent days. Many have used explicitly pro-terrorism rhetoric, and some have targeted Jewish students.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a new biography, Rhoda: “Comrade Cadderly, you are abnormal.”. He is also the author of a recently published e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
