At least 200 people were arrested at UCLA on May 2, bringing the nationwide total of arrests to more than 2,000 at dozens of college campuses since police cleared an encampment at Columbia University in mid-April, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Demonstrations—and arrests—have occurred in almost every corner of the nation. But in the last 24 hours, they’ve drawn the most attention at the University of California, Los Angeles, where chaotic scenes played out early May 2 as officers in riot gear surged against a crowd of demonstrators.
Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in a student movement unlike any other this century. The ensuing police crackdowns echoed actions decades ago against a much larger protest movement protesting the Vietnam War.
President Joe Biden on May 2 defended the students’ right to peaceful protest but decried the disorder of recent days. Israel has branded the protests antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition.
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