Hundreds of police officers marched toward the University of Texas at Austin before fighting with pro-Palestinian protesters as demonstrations began on campuses across the country.
Police arrested at least four activists, who burst into tears as they were handcuffed after warning them they could face criminal charges if they did not disperse..
The demonstration on the Austin campus was organized by the university’s Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSJ) chapter and quickly descended into anarchy.
The group said it was inspired by its ‘comrades’ at Yale and Columbia University, where in-person classes have been canceled due to unrest sparked by the ‘Gaza camps.’
It comes as pro-Gaza groups took over universities across the United States and clashed with police and Jewish counterprotesters, with angry protesters seen at USC, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Brown and NYU.
One of the protesters detained by Texas police is seen above.
Police arrested at least four protesters at UT Austin after warning them they could face criminal charges if they did not disperse.
The rally on the Austin campus was organized by the university’s Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSJ) chapter.
Protesters in Austin asked for ‘support’ on Instagram as riot police showed up on campus
USC Public Safety Officer informs students that they must disperse on Wednesday
Pro-Palestinian supporters from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrate at MIT at a Palestine camp at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The PSC chapter at UT Austin said on Instagram: “The UT administration has called in the state police in an attempt to scare us into silence.”
They added: ‘take these photographs of our campus.’ Texas Department of Public Safety officers with horses and riot gear were also seen at the protest.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Texas Department of Public Safety for additional information. Several pro-Palestinian protesters were seen sobbing as they watched police enter the scene.
Hundreds of Texas police officers entered the campus of the University of Texas at Austin to control a pro-Palestinian student protest.
Protesters at UT Austin were seen sobbing as they watched police enter the scene.
One of the protesters is detained by the police.
The PSC chapter said on Instagram: “The UT administration has called the state police in an attempt to scare us into silence.”
They added: ‘take these photos of our campus’
The group said it was inspired by its ‘comrades’ at Rutgers, Yale and Columbia University.
The more than 200 protesters demand that UT-Austin divest from any manufacturer that supplies Israel with weapons to help in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
They met at the university’s Gregory Gymnasium and marched to the south lawn, where they planned to sit the rest of the day.
One of the arrested protesters was one of the organizers of the protest, and an officer singled him out by saying he would be the first to be arrested, according to the Tribune.
Also on Wednesday, police clashed with protesters at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Officials broke up a tent rally after students began camping in Palestine following a call from USC’s Divest in Death Coalition and National Students for Justice in Palestine.
Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a tent camp in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on Monday.
Members of the Arena student community support protesters who barricaded themselves inside Siemens Hall protesting in support of Palestinians at Cal Poly Humboldt on Tuesday.
Officials broke up a tent rally after students began camping in Palestine following a call from USC’s Divest in Death Coalition and National Students for Justice in Palestine.
It comes as the situation at Columbia University in New York City remained tense and campus officials said they would continue talks with pro-Palestinian protesters for another 48 hours.
University President Minouche Shafik had set a midnight deadline to reach an agreement on clearing a protester encampment on campus, but the school extended negotiations, saying it was making “significant progress.”
The student protesters had committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents, the Ivy League university said in a statement.
On Wednesday morning, the camp seemed quiet and a little smaller than the day before.
Student protesters occupy the pro-Palestinian ‘Gaza Solidarity Camp’ on the West Lawn of Columbia University on April 24.
A protest camp over the genocide in Gaza enters its second day, on the grounds of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, on April 23.
Tents at a camp, where students protest in support of the Palestinians at Emerson College on Wednesday.
New York University (NYU) students and faculty participate in an anti-Israel protest in Washington Square Park on Tuesday.
Police first attempted to clear the encampment in Columbia last week, when they arrested more than 100 protesters. But the move backfired, inspiring other students across the country to set up similar camps and motivating protesters in Columbia to regroup.
Elsewhere, at the University of Minnesota, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar attended a protest Tuesday night, hours after nine protesters were arrested on campus when police broke up an encampment in front of the library. Hundreds of people had demonstrated in the afternoon to demand her release.
Omar’s daughter was among the protesters arrested in Columbia last week.
Students in some protests hid their identities. At an encampment of about 40 tents in the heart of the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, nearly every student wore a mask, which they were given upon entering.
Meanwhile, more than 40 protesters were arrested Monday at an encampment at Yale University.
The rise in protests has left universities struggling to balance campus security with the right to free speech. Many long tolerated the protests but are now imposing harsher discipline, citing security concerns.