Riot police are arresting students at campuses across the US as protests over Palestine continue to grow.
On Wednesday afternoon, police on horseback arrived at University of Texas at Austin’s campus and began arresting students, according to The Texas Tribune. At least 10 people participating in the protest were detained. The university’s Palestine Solidarity Committee organised the demonstration.
The students were demanding that the institution divest from manufacturers supply Israel weapons in attacks against Palestine. The students gathered at a campus gym with plans to march through the university and hold a sit-in. By 12pm CT, 200 students had banded together.
Similar scenes broke out at the University of Southern California as police there arrested a Palestinian student organiser. More than 100 students there placed tents, banners and signs in the centre of the campus. USC Students reiterated calls made by protestors at UT Austin, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Additional arrests were seen at universities this week including Ohio State and Columbia University. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called for Columbia’s President Dr Nemat Shafik to resign before his scheduled visit Wednesday afternoon to speak with the school’s Jewish students.
“It’s unconscionable”, Mr Johnson said on The Hugh Hewitt Show. “This president has shown to be very weak, inept leader. They cannot even guarantee the safety of Jewish students. They’re expected to run for their lives and stay home from class. It’s just maddening”.
The speaker continued his comments by calling on revoking the visas of international student protestors.
This is a developing story…