A Pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Southern California’s Alumni Park that started Wednesday morning grew in size and intensity by the afternoon after campus police confronted the crowd and ordered the dismantling of the encampment.
It ultimately led USC officials to close the campus “until further notice.”
The Los Angeles Police Department ordered the protesters to disperse at about 5 p.m., giving them 10 minutes to leave the area or risk arrest. Dozens of officers stood by as the demonstrators started to leave.
“The Los Angeles Police Department is clearing the center of the UPC (University Park) campus. If you are in the center of campus, please leave; LAPD will be arresting people who don’t disperse,” USC tweeted at 5:50 p.m.
Many stayed in the area, locking arms as LAPD officers in riot gear marched closer to them. Others took out their phones and appeared to record what was happening as police started to surround the remaining demonstrators.
Officers incrementally moved closer to the protesters as they continually refused to leave Alumni Park. Demonstrators seemed to throw water at officers as LAPD continued to move into the crowd, detaining at least one person in the process.
After more protesters left, officers placed demonstrators in handcuffs one by one instead of detaining all of the remaining protesters at once. Many of them chanted as officers detained multiple people. The protesters being detained seemed to fully cooperate with police.
However, others chanted, “Let them go” and “Hands off students,” as officers led the detainees away to a nearby courtyard. There, protesters sat down at a makeshift command center as officers filled out paperwork.
At the same time, some of the protesters moved away from the campus and blocked the intersection of Hoover Street and Jefferson Boulevard before marching on Exposition Boulevard. Marchers eventually left the roadway and gathered at an entrance to Exposition Park.
At least 93 people were arrested for trespassing during the protests, according to the LAPD.
Some protesters went to detention facilities where the LAPD was holding the people they arrested.
Tensions started to rise after officers forced the protesters to take down their tents and a protester was detained.
The encampment went up at the park Wednesday morning, similar to other pro-Palestinian encampments that have been part of other college campuses across the nation.
The group issued a list of demands,…
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