Police in riot gear entered the UC Santa Cruz campus early Friday morning, arresting pro-Palestinian protesters who set up an encampment and blocked the main entrance to campus.
Video taken after midnight showed a line of police with raised batons standing at the UC Santa Cruz encampment just a few feet from protesters who linked arms. Many protesters wore helmets and goggles and covered their faces with keffiyehs and masks.
“Leave the area immediately,” a law enforcement officer instructed protesters. But his instructions were drowned out by the crowd.
“Cops off campus!” the demonstrators chanted. “Glory to the martyrs!”
A UC Santa Cruz official said in a Friday morning statement the university brought in law enforcement to disband the encampment after repeatedly instructing students — for weeks and Friday morning — to stop their “intentional and dangerous blockade of campus entrances.”
“It is imperative that we restore full access to our campus and end other unlawful, unsafe actions as demonstrators continued to disrupt campus operations and threatened safety, even delaying access of emergency vehicles,” said Scott Hernandez-Jason, the assistant vice chancellor for communications and marketing, said. “It was impossible to do so without law enforcement intervention.”
The standoff between protesters and law enforcement began around 1 a.m. as officers from the California Highway Patrol, Daly City, Foster City and Pacifica descended on the encampment.
A livestream feed from Estudiantes Oaxaqueños de Ahora at UCSC showed protesters setting up wooden pallets between themselves and the officers.
“You don’t scare us!” they chanted. “Shame!
Police tore away the barricade and then inched closer toward the protesters.
Livestreams from the UCSC Student Union Assembly showed law enforcement descending on the encampment in the dark, shining strobe lights on students, looking inside tents and dismantling the encampment.
“Free, free, free Palestine,” the protesters chanted, one waving a Palestinian flag as officers approached a line of protesters.
Police began to make arrests around 3 a.m. But two hours later, the protesters were still at the encampment, issuing calls for supporters to come to the campus and provide backup.
“SHOW UP NOW,” Students for Justice in Palestine UC Santa Cruz said on Instagram. “5AM AND WE ARE STILL HERE. WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER. GET HERE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.”
Videos from the scene showed protesters scream as police officers engaged in altercations with protesters who resisted arrest, in one case pulling a student from the crowd by the leg. Students tried to pull those being arrested back in to their circle.
“Don’t hurt students!” the protesters chanted. “Don’t hurt students!”
About 7:30 a.m., a white Santa Cruz sheriff’s department transportation bus carrying protesters left campus and the crowd jeered.
“Let them go!” they chanted.
It was not clear how manyprotesters have been arrested. Inquiries to local law enforcement agencies were not immediately returned.
The standoff took place after university leaders switched to remote learning this week after protesters blocked the main entrance to campus. Students have joined forces with hundreds of striking academic workers at UC Santa Cruz, who allege the University of California’s response to pro-Palestinian demonstrators has violated their free speech rights.
“We call on these protesters to immediately reopen full access to the campus and return to protesting in a manner consistent with both our community values and our student code of conduct,” university leaders wrote Thursday in a message to the campus community. “Denying instructional access is not free speech.”
Jenny Jarvie, Angie Orellana Hernandez
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