Violent clashes at US universities as students arrested in pro-Palestine protests

Riot police stormed Columbia University after students barricaded themselves inside a building overnight, ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports

Violent clashes have broken out between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protesters at Universities across the United States.

Students have reported the use of pipes, tasers and pepper spray during the violent confrontations at UCLA in Los Angeles, while around 300 students were arrested in New York.

Speaking to ITV News' US partner CNN, Anna Dai-Liu, an editor for UCLA’s newspaper, said: "There’s also been reports of pepper spray and bear spray.

"As of the moment, it’s very difficult for us to confirm which sides these sprays are coming from, but we’re hearing it’s coming more from the counter protester side.”

Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, said: "The violence unfolding this evening at UCLA is absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable."

The LAPD said that at the request of the university, due to "multiple acts of violence within the large encampment on their campus", officers had been sent to assist UCLA PD and other law enforcement.

Before police were deployed footage showed pro-Palestine and Israel supporters using fireworks, throwing objects and physical violence being used.

Footage shows protesters clashing at UCLA in California as police attempt to squash the 'abhorrent and inexcusable' violence between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel supporters

On the other side of the country, around 300 protesters were arrested at two universities in New York in the latest escalation of college campus demonstrations across the United States against the Israel-Hamas war.

Most of the arrests were made at Columbia, including about two dozen protesters who police say tried to prevent officers from entering the campus, an official said. Several were also arrested at City College of New York.

In a press conference with reporters, New York Mayor Eric Adams said that buildings at Columbia University had been broken into by individuals that were unaffiliated with the school.

“These external actors with a history of escalating situations and trying to create chaos, not to peacefully protest, but create chaos,” the mayor said.

Defending the decision to call the police Columbia University president Minouche Shafik said protesters taking over an administration building on campus early Tuesday was a "drastic escalation" of the encampment at the college, which "pushed the University to the brink, creating a disruptive environment for everyone and raising safety risks to an intolerable level."

At the University of Arizona police have begun using "chemical irritants" to disperse crowds, while at Tulane University police in riot gear are "heavily patrolling" the campus, according to CNN.

It comes after video footage emerged on Tuesday showing protesters at Columbia barricading themselves inside Hamilton Hall.

“After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalised, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” Columbia University said in a statement.

“The decision to reach out to the New York Police Department (NYPD) was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing.

"We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”

Aerial footage shows crowds of protesting students surround a college building at Columbia University

Encampments have surrounded the buildings, leading to ultimatums from the universities that have resulted in clashes with police.

There have also been calls of concern regarding the treatment of protesters.

Video taken over the weekend at Arizona State University shows a campus police officer removing a hijab from a protester’s head during her arrest.

The blurred video, obtained by Mass Liberation AZ and provided by attorney Zayed Al-Sayyed, who represents the women, shows several ASU Police Department officers surrounding a woman whose hands are held behind her back as one of the officers removes her hijab.

Upon being taken into custody, Al-Sayyed said, the women explained the significance of a hijab and “begged” to keep their hijabs, but he said they were told that their hijabs had to be removed for safety reasons.

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