Over half of the people arrested Monday at a University of Texas at Austin pro-Palestinian demonstration had no campus ties, according to UT and campus officials.

A university statement Tuesday stated 79 people were arrested, and 45 of them had “no affiliation with UT Austin.” It’s not clear what charges they’re facing.

“These numbers validate our concern that much of the disruption on campus over the past week has been orchestrated by people from outside the University, including groups with ties to escalating protests at other universities around the country,” a statement noted.

Following a nationwide trend of protests on college campuses, two large demonstrations have taken place on UT Austin’s campus in the last week, one Monday and another April 24, as people have rallied to protest the war in Gaza and demand the university system divest from weapon manufacturers. Concerns have been raised among free-speech advocates as dozens of state troopers have made arrests on campus.

On Monday, demonstrators began setting up an encampment on the South Lawn before campus police issued an order to disperse.

Officials say weapons, including guns, buckets of large rocks, bricks, steel-enforced wood planks, mallets and chains, have been confiscated from protesters. Officials allege that staff have been physically assaulted and threatened, and “police have been headbutted and hit with horse excrement, while their police cars have had tires slashed with knives.”

Officials believe these actions are orchestrated and led by people outside the university. They noted in the statement they will continue “to safeguard the free speech and assembly rights of everyone on our campus, while we protect our university and students who are preparing for their final exams.”

Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System’s Board of Regents, said in his own statement Wednesday that “any attempt to shut down or disrupt UT operations will not be tolerated.” He said free speech is violated when it includes threats to campus safety and security “or refusal to comply with institutional policies and laws.”

Eltife said he has been working with UT Austin President Jay Hartzell and that officials will not “acquiesce” on decisions to protect the campus community. The chairman added that officials will continue to call upon the state’s Department of Public Safety when needed.

Gov. Greg Abbott posted on social media last week that “students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.” The governor issued an executive order in March aimed at fighting what his office called an increase in antisemitism at Texas’ colleges and universities.

A post from DPS last week noted state troopers responded to the campus April 24 at the request of Abbott. Those arrested last week faced charges of criminal trespassing, but Travis County prosecutors declined the charges. The Palestine Solidarity Committee was suspended for allegedly violating university rules, according to a UT spokesperson.

Nationwide demonstrations have taken place since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostage. In the months that have followed, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip in retaliation, killing over 34,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in West Bank. The Dallas Morning News cannot independently verify these numbers.

Last week, about 100 students at UT Dallas occupied the administration building for several hours also calling for officials to pull university investments from companies supplying weapons to the conflict in Gaza.