UT Austin: Horse-backed state troopers arrest 'at least 50' at University of Texas' pro-Palestine protest after wild clashes as coast to coast campus chaos continues

State troopers have arrested at least 50 pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Texas, Austin, on Wednesday following wild clashes on campus, as students across the country try to force academic institutions to divest from Israel. 

Hundreds of troopers, armed with riot shields and batons, were seen scuffling with pro-Palestine protesters, and the Lone Star state was forced to send in mounted officers to control the growing chaos at the protest, which was hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, a registered student group and a chapter of the national Students for Justice in Palestine.

The PSC chapter at UT Austin said on Instagram: 'UT administration has called on state troopers in an attempt to scare us into silence.'

They added: 'get these pics off our campus.' Texas Department of Public Safety officers were also seen in horses and riot gear at the protest, which died down at 6pm local time, six hours after it began, but was reignited after a crowd of them returned to the campus' South Lawn and have stayed there as of 7:45pm, local media reported. 

As of 9pm, 34 people were arrested, but this morning it was revealed that an additional 20 have been arrested as well. 

The university's faculty appeared to be standing behind the students. Pavithra Vasudevan, a professor at UT, told the American-Statesman that the arrests lay at the feet of the university's administrators. 

She said: 'The president and university administration chose to militarize our campus in response … to students gathering to express themselves.'

Hundreds of troopers, armed with riot shields and batons, were seen scuffling with pro-Palestine protesters,

State troopers arrest a protester at a pro-Palestinian rally at the University of Texas on Wednesday April 24, 2024

State troopers try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas on Wednesday April 24

Pavithra Vasudevan, a professor at UT, (pictured) told the American-Statesman that the arrests lay at the feet of the university's administrators

The assistant professor of women's & gender studies and African & African Diaspora studies said faculty members had planned a rally for Thursday around cuts to staffing and study programs under a Texan law that banned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public universities. 

She said she was 'motivated by students' courage', and added that the university's response to the protests was 'repressive.'

Vasudevan added that it was key for her and other staff members at the university to speak out: 'We cannot continue with business as usual.'

In a statement Wednesday night, the university's president, Jay Hartzell, said: 'Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied.' 

A pro-Palestine protester is detained by police on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin

Police arrest a student during a pro-Palestine demonstration at the The University of Texas at Austin

The protesters in Austin asked for 'support' on Instagram as riot police showed up on campus

One of the protesters is seen as he was detained by police

The group said it was inspired by their 'comrades' at Rutgers, Yale and Columbia University

Officials with the Dean of Students Office said on Tuesday in a letter to the organisers of the protest that although the university supports free speech, its first priority is to 'protect our educational mission.'

'Simply put, the University of Texas at Austin will not allow this campus to be 'taken' and protestors to derail our mission in ways that groups affiliated with your national organization have accomplished elsewhere,' the letter read. 

Other University of Texas campuses also saw pro-Palestine protests take place, but none were as wild as the one at Austin. 

Meanwhile, campuses across America have seen pro-Palestine protestors clash with police and Jewish counter-protesters, with furious demonstrators spotted at USC, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Brown and NYU. 

While grappling with growing protests from coast to coast, schools have the added pressure of May commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University in New York, students defiantly erected an encampment where many are set to graduate in front of families in just a few weeks.

Columbia continued to negotiate with students after several failed attempts - and over 100 arrests - to clear the encampment, but several universities ousted demonstrators on Wednesday, swiftly turning to law enforcement when protests bubbled up on their campuses.

Law enforcement work to contain a crowd during a pro-Palestine demonstration at the The University of Texas at Austin

They added: 'get these pics off our campus'

Police arrested activists - who burst out in tears when they were handcuffed - after warning them they could face criminal charges if they did not disperse 

Hundreds of Texas troopers went into the University of Texas at Austin campus to control a pro-Palestine student protest

Tensions were already high at the University of Southern California after the university canceled a planned commencement speech by the school's valedictorian, who publicly supports Palestine, citing safety concerns. After scuffles with police early Wednesday, a few dozen demonstrators standing in a circle with locked arms were detained one by one without incident later in the evening.

Officers encircled the dwindling group sitting in defiance of an earlier warning to disperse or be arrested. Beyond the police line, hundreds of onlookers watched as helicopters buzzed overhead. The school closed the campus.

North of USC, students at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, were barricaded inside a building for a third day, and the school shut down campus through the weekend and made classes virtual.

Harvard University in Massachusetts had sought to stay ahead of protests this week by limiting access to Harvard Yard and requiring permission for tents and tables. That didn't stop protesters from setting up a camp with 14 tents on Wednesday following a rally against the university's suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.

Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling its monthslong conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus as graduation nears, partly prompting a heavier hand from universities.

University of Southern California protesters fight with University Public Safety officers as they try to remove tents

University of Southern California protesters carry a tents around Alumni Park

Demonstrators  at UT Austin were seen sobbing as they watched police enter the scene

Students walked out of class and gathered in protest as pro-Gaza groups took to universities across the US and clashed with police

At New York University this week, police said 133 protesters were taken into custody, while over 40 protesters were arrested Monday at an encampment at Yale University.

Columbia University averted another confrontation between students and police earlier Wednesday. University President Minouche Shafik had set on Tuesday a midnight deadline to reach an agreement on clearing an encampment, but the school extended negotiations for another 48 hours.

On a visit to campus Wednesday, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, called on Shafik to resign 'if she cannot bring order to this chaos.'

'If this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,' he said.

On Wednesday evening, a Columbia spokesperson said rumors that the university had threatened to bring in the National Guard were unfounded. 'Our focus is to restore order, and if we can get there through dialogue, we will,' said Ben Chang, Columbia's vice president for communications.

New York University (NYU) students and faculty participate in a protest against Israel at Washington Square Park on Tuesday

Pro-Palestinian supporters from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology rally at MIT at an encampment for Palestine at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts

A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers

The PSC chapter said on Instagram: 'UT administration has called on state troopers in an attempt to scare us into silence'

Columbia graduate student Omer Lubaton Granot, who put up pictures of Israeli hostages near the encampment, said he wanted to remind people that there were more than 100 hostages still being held by Hamas.

'I see all the people behind me advocating for human rights,' he said. 'I don't think they have one word to say about the fact that people their age, that were kidnapped from their homes or from a music festival in Israel, are held by a terror organization.' 

University President Minouche Shafik had set a midnight deadline to reach an agreement on clearing an encampment of protesters on campus but the school extended negotiations, saying it was making 'important progress.'

Student protesters had committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents, the Ivy League university said in a statement.

On Wednesday morning, the encampment appeared calm and a little smaller than the previous day.

Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a tent encampment in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on Monday

Officials broke up a tent demonstration after students began camping out for Palestine after a call by USC's Divest from Death Coalition and National Students for Justice in Palestine

Student demonstrators occupy the pro-Palestinian 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment' on the West Lawn of Columbia University on April 24

One of the protesters detained by Texas troopers is seen above 

USC Public Safety officer informs students that they must disperse on Wednesday

Police first tried to clear the encampment at Columbia last week, when they arrested more than 100 protesters. But the move backfired, acting as an inspiration for other students across the country to set up similar encampments and motivating protesters at Columbia to regroup.

Meanwhile more than 40 protesters were arrested Monday at an encampment at Yale University. 

The upwelling of demonstrations has left universities struggling to balance campus safety with free speech rights. Many long tolerated the protests, but are now doling out more heavy-handed discipline, citing safety concerns.

Harvard law student Tala Alfoqaha, who is Palestinian, said she and other protesters want more transparency from the university.

'My hope is that the Harvard administration listens to what its students have been asking for all year, which is divestment, disclosure and dropping any sort of charges against students,' she said.

Police have arrested at least four demonstrators at UT Austin after warning them they could face criminal charges if they did not disperse

The rally at the Austin campus was organized by the university's Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSJ) chapter

An encampment protesting the genocide in Gaza, goes into its second day, on the grounds of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States on April 23

Tents stand in an encampment, where students are protesting in support of Palestinians at Emerson College on Wednesday 

Student sand community members support protesters who have locked themselves inside of Siemens Hall protesting in support of Pro-Palestinian at Cal Poly Humboldt on Tuesday

On Wednesday about 60 tents remained at the Columbia encampment, which appeared calm. Security remained tight around campus, with identification required and police setting up metal barricades.

Columbia said it had agreed with protest representatives that only students would remain at the encampment and they would make it welcoming, banning discriminatory or harassing language. 

Elsewhere, at the University of Minnesota, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar attended a protest late Tuesday, hours after nine protesters were arrested on the campus when police took down an encampment in front of the library. Hundreds had rallied in the afternoon to demand their release. 

Omar's daughter was among the demonstrators arrested at Columbia last week. 

Students at some protests were hiding their identities. At an encampment of about 40 tents at the heart of the University of Michigan's campus in Ann Arbor, almost every student wore a mask, which was handed to them when they entered.