(TargetDailyNews.com) – The University of Texas campus in Austin became the scene of mass arrests and chaos after multiple demonstrators refused to disperse on Monday, April 29th. Forty protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct after roughly 100 of them sat down and refused to leave. Police in riot gear dragged them out one at a time and arrested them amidst loud complaints.
Another group blocked a van of arrestees and police from moving, resulting in the police using pepper spray and flash bangs to clear the area. The incident highlights the dangerous nature of these protests and how they frequently start as peaceful assemblies which spin into chaotic riots.
The incident marked the latest confrontation between police and demonstrators on the school’s largest campus. The University has a student population of roughly 53,000 people. Dozens were arrested at the school last week during previous protests.
University officials published a statement indicating that the protesters were largely unaffiliated with the school and that their tent cities are prohibited by campus rules. The statement also highlighted incidents of physical violence and threats made by protesters, indicating they were well out of their First Amendment-protected bounds. The statement suggested that the threats and violence led to them invoking the police.
Demonstrators have sprung up on campuses around the country protesting the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Many of the demonstrators side with Hamas and the Palestinian cause, highlighting that the Israelis have the military advantage and received endless boons of support from America. Some schools have been forced to go remote for the remainder of the school year while the limits of free speech have come up in conversation among critics and supporters.
The sentiments have spread to Europe as French police pulled out dozens of protesters at Sorbonne University after demonstrators supporting the Palestinians took over a building. Canadian protests have also popped up at the University of Ottawa and McGill University.
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