Demonstrators set up tents and barriers on UCLA campus

A group of demonstrators gathered Thursday morning on the UCLA campus on the same day that the school’s chancellor was testifying before a House committee about earlier protests and the law enforcement response.

Video from NewsChopper4 showed two tents, barriers made out of wooden pallets, tables fencing and other items, and a group of people gathered on the campus between Kerckhoff and Moore halls.

Video also appeared to show campus security personnel at the site.

A group calling itself Students for Justice in Palestine posted on Instagram that it had established a “second encampment at Kerckhoff patio.”

A significantly larger encampment was set up in April on the Westwood campus during protests over the war in Gaza. That encampment was dismantled in a pre-dawn law enforcement operation earlier this month that resulted in about 200 arrests.

On April 30, counterdemonstrators attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones, releasing pepper spray and tearing down barriers. Fighting continued for several hours before police stepped in, and no one was arrested. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries.

Sporadic disruptions continued following the dismantling of a pro-Palestinian encampment and some 200 arrests. The university closed fore a day, then shifted to online classes. On May 6, about 40 people were arrested during protests on the campus over the war in Gaza.

Chancellor Gene Block is one of three college presidents and chancellors who testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee about the demonstrations and allegations of antisemitism on campuses.

Block, who is set to retire at the end of July, is scheduled to testify two days after it was reported that the university’s police chief was removed from his job and reassigned. Chief John Thomas faced criticism over his handling of the demonstrations that included an attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment.

Block announced that Rick Braziel, a former Sacramento police chief, would lead a new Office of Campus Safety that will oversee the UCLA Police Department.

The war in Gaza began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.