UCLA Gaza camp agitators sue school over handling of violent clashes with counter protesters

A group of over 30 pro-Palestinian agitators that constructed a Gaza encampment on UCLA’s campus last April are suing the university, claiming that their civil rights were violated when a pro-Israel group started to dismantle the encampment and violent clashes broke out between them. They have also alleged that police engaged in wrongful arrest and excessive use of force.

The encampment at UCLA was part of the wave of pro-Palestinian encampments that popped up throughout the country at different universities, with many of them turning violent.

Police were called to the UCLA campus last spring when there were violent clashes between the Gaza camp supporters between a counter-protest group supporting Israel. Fights between the two groups went on for hours and people hit each other with sticks and barricades were used as weapons.

UCLA Gaza camp agitators sue school over handling of violent clashes with counter protesters, claiming the school is liable for damages, according to the Associated Press. Some of the pro-Palestinian agitators were injured during the events, which occurred after private security left campus but before police arrived.

The lawsuit alleged that the school called the police to “forcibly remove people expressing pro-Palestinian views” and that the school has a “systemic anti-Palestinian bias.”

Some Gaza camp supporters in the lawsuit alleged that they were wrongfully arrested and that police used excessive force during the incident.

“Encampment members witnessed the mob’s extreme violence, threats of violence, and UCLA’s failure to intervene,” the lawsuit claimed. “They saw people get their heads split open, suffer from open wounds and concussions, scream in pain and fear, with fireworks and mayhem all around them.”

On May 1 and 2, dozens were arrested by the LA Police as well as the California Highway Patrol. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages from physical and psychological injuries.

The violent clashes between pro-Israel and the pro-Palestinian groups followed reports of the Gaza camp agitators physically blocking Jewish students from accessing campus grounds.

In June, three Jewish students sued the school for allowing the Gaza camp agitators to block the Jewish as well as pro-Israel students from accessing campus. The students alleged that UCLA failed to provide access to the university facilities to all students as well as alleged discrimination against the school.

Last week, the Trump administration filed a brief in support of the Jewish students as the administration has been working to root out antisemitism at different colleges and universities.