Police dispersed a camp of pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Southern California (USC), according to a letter from university President Carol Folt published on the university’s website on Sunday.
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It was previously reported that protests in support of Palestine took place on the territory of the University of Southern California. At the end of April, the Los Angeles Times reported that Los Angeles police detained 93 people at protests at the university.
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“The Department of Public Safety, with the assistance of the Los Angeles Police Department, has removed the occupiers who set up their illegal camp in Alumni Park,” she wrote, adding that the university is back open and preparations for final exams are in full swing.
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Folt said the university had previously shown “patience and restraint” as it worked to de-escalate the situation, but she said the free speech protests had escalated into “unlawful occupations” that violated the rights of others. The letter suggests that the protesters were ignoring university policy and breaking the law. The president noted that in the last few days the protests had been developing “in a dangerous direction,” and the university leadership needed to respond quickly.
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“With no solution in sight, I asked the Los Angeles Police Department to assist… in dispersing the camp in as peaceful and safe a manner as possible… In the morning the order to disperse was given and the perpetrators were given one last opportunity to leave voluntarily. After 64 minutes, the camp was cleared and cleared,” the letter says.
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Folt added that the police operation at the university was peaceful, “with no arrests.”
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The campuses of prestigious American universities have in recent days become the epicenter of outrage over the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip and the US assistance to its main Middle East ally. The protests intensified amid US approval of a new aid package for Israel.
