Two pro-Palestine protesters detained during encampment attack anniversary rally
Pro-Palestine protesters leave Wilson Plaza. The protesters began their rally at Wilson Plaza around 7:30 p.m., setting up screening equipment, but then left for Bruin Plaza. (Andrew Diaz/Daily Bruin)
UCPD detained two pro-Palestine protesters during a series of demonstrations Wednesday night.
Around 200 protesters began rallying at Wilson Plaza at 7:30 p.m. to watch “The Encampments,” a 2024 film about pro-Palestine protests at several university campuses, and later marched across Bruin Walk to De Neve Plaza. Protesters then blocked traffic, walking down Gayley Avenue to Le Conte Drive and turning onto Westwood Plaza to protest in front of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
The protest, organized by Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA – a previously suspended student organization – occurred one year after pro-Israel counter-protesters attacked the first Palestine solidarity encampment.
[Related: Pro-Israel counter-protesters attempt to storm encampment, sparking violence]
Protesters began attacking the encampment around 10:50 p.m. on April 30, 2024, throwing fireworks and scooters into the area, but police did not intervene for over three hours later.
“We invite you all to watch the documentary in solidarity to honor one year since the encampment at UCLA,” SJP said in a post to its Instagram account. “We watch the film in protest of UCLA’s violence towards its students & community members, and its’ financial & academic complicity in the Palestinian genocide.”
SJP at UCLA originally planned for the rally to take place in Dickson Plaza, according to a post on its Instagram account.
However, UCPD announced the closure of the area Wednesday afternoon, blocking all entrances off with metal barriers following the arrest of a pro-Palestine protester around 2:30 p.m. The protester, who was not UCLA-affiliated, was arrested for battery after slapping a security officer and has been issued an administrative “stay away” order that prevents the protester from coming back to campus, said Steve Lurie, the associate vice chancellor for campus and community safety.
[Related: UCPD arrests individual outside Royce Hall, temporarily closes Dickson Plaza]
Multiple pro-Palestine protesters declined requests for comment on the arrest or the Wednesday protest.
“We are here tonight, not at Royce, because that’s where we were planning to be,” a protester, who did not give their name, said in a speech. “We were pushed into Wilson Quad because this university fears our presence.”
Protesters began setting up a screen in Wilson Plaza to show “The Encampments” around 8 p.m. However, a representative from Student Affairs told protesters that “visuals” were not allowed in the area.
They then walked to Bruin Plaza to present the documentary, setting up a white sheet and projector next to the Bruin Bear. Around 8:05 p.m., a UCPD officer told an SJP representative that they could not show the film in the area.
“There’s no one else I can talk to,” the UCPD officer said. “But, you can’t show the movie here.”
Around 30 UCPD officers wearing riot gear and armed with less-than-lethal weapons lined up behind the McClure Stage in Bruin Plaza around 8:24 p.m. Security personnel from CSC – a private crowd management company – also stood behind the stage.
Several UCPD cars were also stationed around the area.
“Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” protesters chanted.
UCPD officers surrounded the protesters, who walked toward Pauley Pavilion. Protesters walked up Bruin Walk to De Neve Plaza, where they chanted, “Free, free Palestine” and set up the screen again.
At 9 p.m., around 30 UCPD officers in riot gear ran into a crowd of around 150 pro-Palestine protesters, who dispersed briefly from the area. Three UCPD officers also drove motorcycles into the center of the plaza.
UCPD officers detained two protesters and confiscated the screening equipment. A UCPD spokesperson did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the police actions.
(Andrew Diaz/Daily Bruin)
Protesters marched and blocked traffic on Gayley Avenue, turning on Le Conte Avenue and into Westwood Boulevard until they reached Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center around 9:30 p.m. UCPD officers in riot gear blocked the intersection of Westwood Boulevard and Charles E. Young Drive.
Protesters left the area around 10:10 p.m., gathering at the corner of Westwood Boulevard and Le Conte Avenue. Protesters fully dispersed by 10:50 p.m.
