Police make 94 arrests at University of Southern California antiwar protest
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has confirmed the arrests of 94 people participating in demonstrations against Israel’s war on Gaza at the University of Southern California.
LAPD Captain Kelly Muniz said 93 people were arrested on trespass violations, while one other arrest was for assault with a deadly weapon, though she did not provide details.
Police said there were no reports of injuries during the tense standoff earlier between police and pro-Palestinian and antiwar student protesters at the university’s campus.
‘Change starts on college campuses’: From South African apartheid to Vietnam War
Seireth Jawaid wanted the opportunity to support her older sister and attend student protests against Israel’s war on Gaza at the University of Southern California (USC).
Jawaid’s sister attended USC in the early 2000s and was moved that current students at her alma mater are demonstrating against the war.
But as the sisters attempted to join the protests, they were blocked from getting in – alarmed by the number of security personnel they saw, including dozens of police cars, two fire trucks, and security guards only allowing entry to those who carried student IDs.
Some of the police appeared to be armed with riot gear, Jawaid said.
“What these students are doing is so courageous and brave and I am so proud of them. They are risking their careers and their education to tell their universities to stop investing in Israel and Israeli companies,” she told Al Jazeera.
Jawaid said the images from Gaza “since October have been the worst crimes of humanity”, and while no longer a student herself, she said supporting college antiwar protests is important.
“Change starts on college campuses, from protesting the South African apartheid government to protesting the Vietnam War. Those movements are still remembered today and all the protests at college campuses around the country this past week will be written down in history.”
Police block off the USC campus as students stage an antiwar protest
Over 100 students arrested in California, Texas as Gaza protests in the US intensify
Police in the United States have arrested dozens of protesters at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Southern California as student-led demonstrations against Israel’s war on Gaza intensify.
After visiting Jewish students at Columbia University in New York, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested calling in the National Guard to put down the protests.
