Frightening drone footage shows UCLA protesters take part in jihadi-camp like combat training before cops swooped in

UCLA protesters were filmed engaging in combat training moments before cops swooped in and arrested hundreds at a pro-Palestine encampment. 

Police raided the Gaza solidarity encampment at the California school on Wednesday night after students defied orders to leave. At least 132 protesters were arrested and one officer was injured during the tense standoff between the demonstrators and riot-gear clad cops.

Now, drone footage taken just before officers stormed shows the students learning hand-to-hand combat techniques.

The group can be seen doling out instructions via megaphone as one balaclava-wearing member appears to act out self-defense tactics - in scenes that reminded some online commenters of jihadi-like training. 

UCLA protesters were filmed engaging in militant-style combat training moments before cops swooped in

Drone footage taken just before an overnight standoff on Wednesday shows the students learning hand to hand combat techniques taught by a protester in a balaclava

The Gaza encampment popped up outside of Royce Hall as protesters urged UCLA divest from companies profiting from Israel's war on Hamas

The group filmed performed various scenarios to a crowd that assembled in a circle around them.  At one point, one of the group members approaches another and appears to strike them in the head.

A second demonstration shows an individual appearing to act out how to pull someone's leg after being kicked.

Overhead shots show the rows of tents packed closely together at the sprawling encampment.

Masked members of the Palestinian Force 17, an elite security unit linked to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement train in the Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip Saturday, March 24, 2007

Fighters participate in military training in this undated still frame from a recruitment video for Osama bin Laden''s extremist Al-Qaida network

Palestinian flags are draped throughout, while signs and placards are pushed up against metal fencing surrounding the camp.

Some of the protesters had been seen donning hard hats, goggles and respirator masks in anticipation of the siege a day after the university declared the encampment unlawful.

Objects, including water bottles, were thrown at officers as they descended on the settlement late Wednesday, according to a CHP spokesperson.

Initially, a small group of police was forced to retreat by pro-Palestine protesters before busloads of riot cops arrived and smashed through the barrier at the camp.

Objects, including water bottles, were thrown at officers as they descended on the UCLA settlement, according to a CHP spokesperson

At least 132 protesters were arrested and one officer injured during the tense standoff between the demonstrators and riot-gear clad cops.

The mob of protesters resisted the cops attempts to disperse them as they pulled signs and shields from the group

LAPD protester apprehending a protester as the break through the encampment early on Thursday

An activist is restrained and led away from the scene from an officer

The mob of protesters resisted the cops attempts to disperse them as they pulled signs and shields from the group.

As police helicopters hovered overhead, the sound of flash-bangs, which produce a bright light and a loud noise to disorient and stun people could be heard as police moved in, amid chants of: 'Where were you last night?'

Those arrested were booked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Downtown Los Angeles jail. It is unclear how many of the people arrested are students and faculty. 

By morning, the plaza was strewn with detritus from the destroyed encampment: tents, blankets, food containers, a Palestinian flag, an upturned helmet. 

Police remained on hand during the first half of the day as the area was cleaned of debris.

Classes were moved to remote learning and Royce Hall will remain closed through Friday, university administrators confirmed.

Students were warned they could face consequences including expulsion or criminal charges if they remained at the site. Staff were also told they could face disciplinary action. 

Students have rallied or set up tents at dozens of universities in recent days to protest Israel's war on Gaza and to ask their institutions to divest from companies profiting on the war on Hamas.

Dozens of protesters camped outside Royce Hall in scenes reminiscent of those seen across other campuses

Those arrested were booked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Downtown Los Angeles jail. It is unclear how many of the people arrested are students and faculty

By morning, the plaza was strewn with detritus from the destroyed encampment: tents, blankets, food containers, a Palestinian flag, an upturned helmet

Demonstrators have called on President Joe Biden, who has supported Israel's right to defend itself, to do more to stop the bloodshed in Gaza and demanded schools divest from companies that support Israel's government. 

Many of the schools, including Columbia University in New York City, called in police to quell the protests. 

Biden broke his silence on the demonstrations on Thursday after the UCLA raid, saying Americans have the right to protest but not to unleash violence.

'Destroying property is not a peaceful protest,' he said at the White House.

'It's against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelling of classes and graduations - none of this is a peaceful protest.'

Police remained on hand during the first half of the day as the area was cleaned of debris

Classes were moved to remote learning and Royce Hall will remain closed through Friday, university administrators confirmed

Students were warned they could face consequences including expulsion or criminal charges if they remained at the site

The scenes at UCLA were reminiscent of those at campuses across the US, including Columbia and CUNY which were raided by the NYPD on Tuesday.

In Portland, Oregon, police entered the Portland State University library on Thursday morning, where demonstrators had barricaded themselves since Monday. 

Several dozen protesters ran out of the building and rushed into a phalanx of officers in riot gear, who arrested them.

In New Hampshire, police arrested approximately 100 protesters in separate incidents at Dartmouth University and the University of New Hampshire overnight, breaking up encampments.

The protests follow the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas which killed 1,200 Israelis and saw dozens taken hostage, and an ensuing Israeli offensive that has killed about 34,000 and created a humanitarian crisis.