Protest at UC Irvine Leads to Multiple Arrests Amid Calls for Divestment from Israel

INCIDENT DATE/TIME: 5-15-24, 4pm
LOCATION: UC Irvine Campus
AREA/CITY: Irvine
DETAILS:

IRVINE – A weeks-long pro-Palestine protest at UC Irvine demanding the university divest from Israel over the Hamas war took a tense turn Wednesday when protesters blocked the entrance to the physical sciences building in an apparent occupation of the facility.

The protesters surrounded the physical sciences lecture hall about 2:30 p.m., prompting campus police to request aid from Orange County sheriff’s deputies and Irvine police, among other neighboring agencies, said Tom Vasich, a university spokesman.

Students and educators were also warned to avoid the area, Vasich said. The university canceled all classes for the rest of the day and directed staff to work remotely on Thursday.

A large contingent of police and sheriff’s deputies descended on the campus and began arresting protesters and dismantling the encampment by early evening after declaring an unlawful assembly and ordering the crowd to disperse.

The protest, which includes an encampment similar to those that have been established on campuses across the country, has been largely peaceful as the students have been negotiating with university officials.

The situation intensified over the past week, particularly after some protesting students received suspension notices from the university, including some who were involved in negotiations with UCI administrators.

In a statement posted on social media Wednesday, the UCI Divest protest group said it is “reclaiming the university for Palestine and for the people.”

“Exactly one week ago to the day, UC Irvine issued temporary suspensions to man students in the encampment, including the majority of the student negotiation team,” according to the group. “Students barred from returning to their own campus residence halls, cannot come to campus at the peak of midterms and finals, and are already facing the emotional toll of seeing the university militarize itself before it even accepts ending the genocide and killings of the students’ family members and friends.”

Numerous tents were erected around the physical sciences building, and banners were hung from the building’s balcony listing the groups demands for divestment. Some small skirmishes were visible on the outskirts of the encampment perimeter as at least one counter-protester tried to confront participants.

An unknown number of protesters also took positions inside the building, and video from the scene showed access doors secured with electrical cords — which were quickly removed by police.

UCI Divest added in its statement that university officials have called for a resumption of negotiations with protesters, “but how can we negotiate if our negotiators are barred from physical and virtual presence at UCI?”

In a statement issued Monday, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman said the university “cannot selectively waive our rules against encampments or other relevant policies for this situation and not other situations.”

“Moreover, far from engaging in the mere expression of anti-war sentiments, encampment protesters have focused most of their demands on actions that would require the university to violate the academic freedom rights of faculty, the free speech rights of faculty and fellow students, and the civil rights of many of our Jewish students,” Gillman wrote. “While there is a fine tradition of anti-war protests, it is important that one not confuse that legacy with efforts to intimidate and silence students with whom they disagree and or to diminish the rights of our Jewish students at their university.”

Some protesters who were arrested and led away complained to media at the campus that they had done nothing wrong and were involved in a peaceful protest. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued a statement on X noting that failure to disperse after police declare an unlawful assembly is a crime.

Spitzer said “the right to peaceful assembly is a constitutional right and we encourage protesters to exercise their right to peaceful assembly; however, criminal activity which transcends peaceful assembly, including violence and vandalism of any kind, will not be tolerated. Any evidence of criminal activity, including failure to obey lawful orders to disperse, will be investigated and thoroughly reviewed to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed.”

Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Wagner, a former Irvine mayor, praised law enforcement for their response to the unrest.

“I would urge the students to all stand down and respect the declaration from UCI that this is an unlawful assembly and go back to class,” Wagner told City News Service. “I certainly hope nobody gets hurt. I would like to see this end quickly and peacefully, unlike what we saw at UCLA, and I’m watching to see what happens, but I understand and appreciate the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s response and expect them to do it as gently and as professionally as possible.”

Wagner said he did not have any “inside information” about what set- off the standoff, but he said if it was because some students negotiating with administrators were angry about being suspended, they should know, “You get free speech, but you don’t get consequence-free speech.”

Wagner said he has known Gillman “for 40-plus years, and I don’t think he’d take this action lightly.”

The university “has got to complete its education, and that should be the first priority for UCI, so I would be quite supportive of what they’re trying to do here.”

Supervisor Katrina Foley issued a statement saying, “I value the right to peacefully protest. However, we cannot enable the recent escalations, which include the disruption of classes and (vandalism) of campus property. UCI is a place of learning, research, and free expression. Maintaining this requires the situation surrounding these protests to remain peaceful. I reached out to the chancellor to encourage the administration practice restraint, peacefully disperse the protesters, and subsequently re-engage in negotiations with our students.”

HANDLING AGENCIES: UCI POLICE

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