Anti-Israel protests at the University of California, Los Angeles turned violent late Tuesday night, with fighting breaking out and firecrackers being thrown at a makeshift tent encampment.
Riots broke out at UCLA in Westwood after several agitators tried to break down barricades set up on campus.
According to the video, one of the instigators sprayed pepper spray in the faces of several people, leading to a scuffle. Captured by Fox 11.
Firecrackers were then thrown at a fence set up by campus police, causing the evacuation of several people.
Because UC school police did not formally request assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department until midnight, it took nearly three hours for law enforcement to respond to the large clash between protesters.
The late-night unrest occurred hours after UCLA declared campus encampments illegal and warned protesters that they could be punished if they did not leave. According to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned the protesters before announcing that the Los Angeles Police Department was called in to quell the unrest.
“The acts of violence that occurred tonight at UCLA are absolutely abhorrent and unacceptable,” Bass, who was visiting Washington, D.C., said Tuesday. I wrote it to X. “The Los Angeles Police Department has arrived on campus.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom remained surprisingly silent after protests at UCLA and the University of California, Berkeley turned violent overnight.
“We want to preserve the right to protest without hate,” Newsom said when asked about the demonstrations at a news conference earlier Tuesday. According to Fox News.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed its presence on campus and said the department was working with other agencies to restore order on campus.
“We can confirm that LAPD officers have been dispatched to assist in restoring order and are currently on the UCLA campus. We are working collaboratively with the UCLA PD and other law enforcement agencies. .”
“Due to the horrific acts of violence that occurred at the encampment tonight, we immediately requested mutual aid assistance from law enforcement,” UCLA’s Office of Strategic Communications said in a statement, according to KTTV.
“Fire and medical personnel are on the scene. We are tired of this senseless violence and it must end.”
