IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) — Several people were detained Wednesday at UC Irvine as a pro-Palestinian protest took a tense turn, prompting a massive response from law enforcement.

The protesters began rallying around the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall around 2:30 p.m. where an encampment – much like the ones seen at college campuses across the country – has been in place for weeks.

The demonstrators – who are demanding the university divest from Israel over the Hamas war – began blocking the entrance to the building, stacking tents on top of each other as a makeshift barricade.

Hundreds of police officers and sheriff’s deputies in riot gear descended on the campus and began arresting protesters and dismantling the encampment by early evening after declaring an unlawful assembly and ordering the crowd to disperse. The number of arrests is unknown during the active situation.

AIR7 HD was above the scene and captured hundreds of officers and deputies in riot gear as they confronted protesters, prompting a tense moment between the two groups.

For most of the afternoon into the evening, the situation seemed tense but there were no drastic moments of violence between the two sides. One woman who was detained by police said she’s a professor in the global studies department.

“We cannot have a genocidal foreign policy in a democracy,” she said. “These young people are going to be the ones that have to pay the price for these horrible decisions.”

When asked if she was concerned about her actions possibly jeopardizing her job, she responded saying, “What job do I have if the students don’t have a future?”

Classes for the remainder of the day were canceled and school officials urged anyone in the immediate area to evacuate until further notice.

“Anyone currently in buildings in the vicinity of the protest are advised to exit buildings & leave area at this time,” UC Irvine wrote in an update on X. “Please disregard all previous orders to shelter in place. If able, please leave immediately & continue to avoid the protest area until further notice.”

Local leaders speak out

As the situation unfolded through the afternoon, several Orange County leaders took to social media to share their thoughts, pushing for peaceful protests.

Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan took to X and said, “It’s a shame that peaceful free speech protests are always responded to with violence. Taking space on campus or in a building is not a threat to anyone. UCI leadership must do everything they can to avoid creating a violent scenario here. These are your students w/ zero weapons.”

Meanwhile, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley released a statement, saying “we cannot enable the recent escalations which include the disruption of classes and vandalization of campus property.”

“UCI is a place of learning, research, and free expression. Maintaining this requires the situation surrounding these protests to remain peaceful. I reached out to the Chancellor to encourage the administration practice restraint, peacefully disperse the protestors, and subsequently re-engage in negotiations with our students.”

Students stand by their efforts

Wednesday’s unrest comes amid weeks of protests breaking out at universities across the country, calling for institutions to divest from companies that financially support Israel.

On Tuesday, UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher announced that investments from companies that students are targeting in their call for divestment represent $32 billion, which is nearly one-fifth, of the UC system’s overall assets.

Last month, the University of California president said the institutions would not boycott or divest from Israel.

In a statement issued Monday, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman said the university “cannot selectively waive our rules against encampments (or other relevant policies) for this situation and not other situations. Such selective enforcement is unlawful.”

The statement continued, saying, “Moreover, a decision to abandon enforcement of our policies would effectively permit any group of people – campus affiliates or otherwise – to come onto campus and establish an encampment for any reason, without consequences. Setting such a precedent would create ongoing threats to the safety of our community and our ability to do our important work.”

ABC News contributed to this report.

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