Lawsuit Filed After Over 200 Protesters Arrested During Peaceful Campus Demonstration
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two students and two faculty members at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) The lawsuit makes allegations of violations of their rights to free speech and expression against the Regents and accuses university officials of unlawfully arresting nonviolent demonstrators during a campus protest on May 2, 2024.
The lawsuit stems from the Palestine Solidarity Encampment, a protest organized by UCLA students to oppose actions by the State of Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces, as well as UCLA’s financial ties to those actions. According to UCLA historians, the encampment was described as an “orderly and self-disciplined environment” that initially appeared to have the support of the university administration.
However, on May 2, just days after a mob of more than 100 masked individuals armed with toxic spray, fireworks, and other weapons attacked the encampment, UCLA police, and partner agencies, acting under the direction of UC leadership, dismantled the protest camp. This action resulted in the arrests of more than 200 students, faculty, and supporters…