Los Angeles, Ca
FBI and L.A. police to help investigate violent siege on UCLA encampment
Nearly a week after violence erupted on the campus of UCLA, Chancellor Gene Block announced Monday that the school is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department to hold those responsible for the melee accountable.
Hostilities outside the pro-Palestinian solidarity encampment had been simmering since demonstrators took over Royce Quad on April 25, setting up dozens of tents and surrounding themselves with metal fences and wood pallets.
On April 30, just hours after Chancellor Block labeled the encampment as “unauthorized,” pro-Israeli counter-protestors, many dressed in all black with white masks over their faces and flags draped across their shoulders, lobbed fireworks at the encampment and attempted to dismantle the barricades.
For at least two hours, campus police stood by as both factions traded punches, hurled items at each other, and dispersed pepper spray and fire extinguishers in a chaotic scene that wasn’t contained until around 2 a.m. when LAPD officers arrived.
The president of the University of California system, Michael Drake, said 15 people were injured, one of whom required hospitalization.
Despite the widespread violence, no arrests were reported, though Chancellor Block vowed a “thorough investigation.”
Just two days later, on May 2, police moved in, dismantled the encampment and arrested several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
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Many people in white masks showed up before violence broke out among pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protestors at the UCLA campus on April 30, 2024. (KTLA) -
Violence broke out among pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protestors at the UCLA campus on April 30, 2024. (KTLA) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – May 1: Pro-Palestinian protestors and pro-Israeli supporters clash at an encampment at UCLA early Wednesday morning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
A counter protester shouts at pro-Palestinian protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as clashes erupt, in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024. Clashes broke out on May 1, 2024 around pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of California, Los Angeles, as universities around the United States struggle to contain similar protests on dozens of campuses. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP) (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images) -
US Police officers stand guard near a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), after clashes erupted in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024. Clashes broke out on May 1, 2024 around pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of California, Los Angeles, as universities around the United States struggle to contain similar protests on dozens of campuses. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP) (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images) -
Police face-off with pro-Palestinian students after destroying part of the encampment barricade on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images)
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Police make an arrest as they face-off with pro-Palestinian students after destroying part of the encampment barricade on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images) -
Police react while pro-Palestinian students stand their ground after police breached their encampment at the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images)
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Police make an arrest as they face-off with pro-Palestinian students after destroying part of the encampment barricade on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES CA MAY 2, 2024 — Police tear down the tents on the UCLA campus Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 02: A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer detains a protestor while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment after dispersal orders were given at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, on May 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The camp was declared ‘unlawful’ by the university and over 100 protestors who refused to leave were detained during the operation. Pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up at college campuses around the country with some protestors calling for schools to divest from Israeli interests amid the ongoing war in Gaza. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 02: A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer detains a protestor while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment after dispersal orders were given at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, on May 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The camp was declared ‘unlawful’ by the university and over 100 protestors who refused to leave were detained during the operation. Pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up at college campuses around the country with some protestors calling for schools to divest from Israeli interests amid the ongoing war in Gaza. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) -
Remnants of the pro-Palestinian protest encampment at UCLA on May 2, 2024. (KTLA) -
Police patrol as workers clean up the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus after police evicted pro-Palestinian students, in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. Hundreds of police tore down protest barricades and began arresting students early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles – the latest flashpoint in an eruption of protest on US campuses over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) -
Workers clean up the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus after police evicted pro-Palestinian students, in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. Hundreds of police tore down protest barricades and began arresting students early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles – the latest flashpoint in an eruption of protest on US campuses over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) -
A group of people were detained on the third floor of a parking garage on the campus of UCLA on May 6, 2024. (KTLA) -
A group of people were detained on the third floor of a parking garage on the campus of UCLA on May 6, 2024. (KTLA) -
A group of people were detained on the third floor of a parking garage on the campus of UCLA on May 6, 2024. (KTLA) -
A group of people were detained on the third floor of a parking garage on the campus of UCLA on May 6, 2024. (KTLA)
Today, Block followed up on his promise, saying the university is committed to identifying last week’s perpetrators of violence and holding them accountable.
“The LAPD has committed a detective to assist in our investigative efforts, and we have also connected with the FBI about possible assistance,” the chancellor said Monday in a message to the Bruin community. “We have spoken to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to solicit his help in ensuring that the instigators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Block added that investigators are reviewing all available footage from the April 30 incident, interviewing witnesses and urged anyone who has information about the attack to report it as soon as possible.
Despite the announcement, demonstrations on the campus of UCLA continued Monday.
The university’s newly formed Office of Campus Safety, headed by former Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel, arrested 43 people in a campus parking structure this morning.
Police say the group refused to provide identification and prove whether they were students legally allowed on campus during curfew hours.
According to UCLA regulations, non-affiliates of the university are not allowed on campus between midnight and 6 a.m. without permission. Everyone, including students, staff and faculty, is required to show ID if campus police determine there’s a disturbance to campus peace, KTLA’s Samanth Cortese reported.
Later, dozens of protesters, perhaps more than 100, marched through campus and gathered for a rally in front of the student union building. The university then announced that all classes would be moved to remote due to “ongoing disruptions.”
School officials also said Royce Hall and Powell library would remain closed until Friday.
UCLA did not respond to multiple questions from KTLA about today’s arrests.