Satellite image of the UCLA campus.
On Tuesday night, violence erupted at an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on April 25th.
The image is annotated to show the extent of the pro-Palestinian camp, which occupies the width of the plaza between Powell Library and Royce Hall.
The clashes began after protesters tried to remove barricades from the military post. Violence continued as pro-Palestinian demonstrators rushed to rebuild.
Arrows show pro-Israel counter-protesters moving toward barricades at the edge of the encampment. Arrows indicate pro-Palestinian counter-protesters advancing towards the same barricade.
Police arrived several hours later but did not immediately intervene.
Arrows show police arriving from the same direction as counter-protesters and moving towards the barricades.
A New York Times review of more than 100 videos of the confrontation at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the violence ebbed and flowed over nearly five hours, much of it without police intervention. . The violence had been incited by dozens of people seen on video protesting against the camp.
Video footage showed counter-protesters attacking pro-Palestinian students over several hours, hitting them with sticks, using chemical spray and setting off fireworks as weapons. As of Friday, no arrests had been made in connection with the attack.
To build a timeline of that night's events, the Times analyzed two livestreams and social media videos. captured by journalists And the witnesses.
The melee began when a group of counter-demonstrators began removing metal barriers that had been set up to cut off pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Hours earlier, UCLA officials had declared the encampment illegal.
Security guards hired by the university can be seen standing aside wearing yellow vests throughout the incident. A university spokesperson declined to comment on the security personnel's response.
Mel Berher/The Real News Network
It is not clear how the counter-protests were organized or what the loyalties of those who carried out the violence were. Video showed many of the counter-protesters had pro-Israel slogans on their clothing. Some counter-protesters played loud music, including the Israeli national anthem, Hebrew nursery rhymes and the Israeli song “Harv Darv,” about the IDF's Gaza operation.
Some of the first signs of violence as protesters threw down metal barricades, with one of them trying to punch people near the camp and another throwing pieces of wood into the camp. It was observed.
The attack on the encampment continued for nearly three hours before police arrived.
Counter-protesters fired at least six fireworks at the camp, according to video analyzed by the Times. One of them exploded inside, causing demonstrators to scream. Another round exploded at the edge of the camp. One shot was thrown in the direction of a group of demonstrators carrying injured people out of the camp.
Mel Berher/The Real News Network
Some counter-demonstrators sprayed chemicals inside the encampment and directly into people's faces.
Sean Beckner Carmitchell (via Reuters)
At times, counter-protesters swarmed individuals, and at other times, groups attacked individuals. They were seen punching, kicking and attacking people with improvised weapons such as sticks, cones and wooden planks.
StringersHub (via Associated Press), Sergio Olmos/Calmatters
In one video, protesters who have taken shelter inside the encampment can be heard shouting “Do not engage!” Hold the line!
In some cases, demonstrators in the outposts have been seen attacking counter-protesters who tried to break down barricades, using chemical spray or taunting them with sticks.
With the exception of a brief attempt to film a bullhorn used by counter-protesters and footage of water bottles being thrown from the encampment, the video analyzed by the Times shows protesters at the encampment barricaded. There are no clear examples of people going beyond defense and starting clashes with counter-protesters.
A spokesperson for the mayor's office posted the message shortly before 1 a.m., more than two hours after the violence erupted. statement It said UCLA officials requested help from the Los Angeles Police Department, which responded “immediately.”
Officers from another law enforcement agency, the California Highway Patrol, began converging nearby around 1:45 a.m., followed minutes later by riot police from the Los Angeles Police Department. Counter-demonstrators hailed their arrival, chanting “America, America, America!”
Just four minutes after officers arrived, counter-protesters attacked a man standing dozens of feet away from officers.
Twenty minutes after police arrived, video showed counter-protesters spraying chemicals toward the camp during a scuffle over metal barricades. Near the encampment, another counter-protester can be seen punching someone in the head after swinging a board at a barricade.
Fifteen minutes later, as those in the encampment chanted “Free, Free Palestine,” counter-protesters organized a rush Toward the barricade. Amid the rush, counter-protesters ripped the metal barricade away from the woman, shouting: “You don't stand a chance, old lady.”
During the intermittent violence, officers were captured on video standing about 300 feet from the scene for about an hour without setting foot on the scene.
Police began moving toward the encampment at 2:42 a.m., after which counter-demonstrators dispersed and the overnight violence between the two sides largely subsided.
The Los Angeles Police Department and California Highway Patrol did not respond to questions about their response from the Times on Tuesday night, deferring to UCLA.
A university spokesperson declined to answer specific questions but provided the Times with a statement from Mary Osako, UCLA's vice president for strategic communications. investigation. We are grateful to the fire department and medical personnel on the scene that night. ”
Around 2:50 a.m., Los Angeles Police Department officers were seen walking toward the barricades in protective gear, and they stood between the encampment and the counterprotesters, who then dispersed. I started doing it.
As police continued to stand by outside the camp, a video taken at 3:32 a.m. shows a man being attacked by counter-protesters, dragged and punched as he tried to leave the scene. ing. The editor of UCLA's student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, told the Times that the man was a reporter for the paper and that they were walking. with other student journalists A person covering violent incidents. The editor said she was also beaten and had chemicals sprayed in her eyes.
On Wednesday, UCLA President Gene Block issued a statement saying the actions of the “instigators” who attacked the encampment were unacceptable. A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized campus police for their slow response and said he wanted answers.
Jewish and Muslim groups in Los Angeles also condemned the attack. Hassam Ailush, executive director of the Los Angeles metropolitan area for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called on California's attorney general to investigate the lack of police response. The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles accused UCLA officials of creating a dangerous environment for months, saying officials were “systematically slow to respond when law enforcement was desperately needed.”
Fifteen people were reportedly injured in the attack, according to a letter from the chancellor of the University of California System to the Board of Regents.
On the night the attack began, law enforcement warned pro-Palestinian demonstrators to leave the campsite or face arrest. By early Thursday morning, police had cleared the encampment and arrested more than 200 people who were at the encampment.