Students arrested in California, Texas as Gaza war protests in US intensify

Over 100 students arrested at University of Texas at Austin and University of Southern California as protests spread.

Student-led protests against Israel’s war on Gaza have intensified across the United States, with House Speaker Mike Johnson suggesting the National Guard be brought in even as police in riot gear arrested dozens of young people at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and the University of Southern California (USC).

The arrests on Wednesday in Austin and Los Angeles came as students at Harvard University and Brown University on the east coast of the US also defied threats of action and set up encampments in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The student movement, which began at Columbia University in New York last week, is demanding universities cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say are enabling its months-long war in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed at least 34,262 Palestinians. The protests have been largely respectful and peaceful, but have been met by heavy-handed action from many universities amid claims of anti-Semitism.

The largest protest on Wednesday took place at UT Austin where hundreds of students staged a walkout and marched to the campus’s main lawn, where they planned to set up an encampment. The university said it would “not tolerate disruptions” and called in local and state police to disperse the crowds. Hundreds of officers arrived at the scene, some on horseback. Holding batons, they charged at the crowds and forcefully arrested several students.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said at least 34 people were taken into custody.