Los Angeles police officers in riot gear arrived at the University of Southern California early Sunday to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment after issuing a dispersal warning.
Live footage from USC’s campus showed officers creating a perimeter around the encampment, with no visible protesters on site. Tents and rubble were left behind.
Last night the demonstrators were still camped. Hours later the area was cleared. No arrests have been reported.
The LAPD moved into the area around 4 a.m. and warned that protesters must voluntarily evacuate the area. That followed an announcement from USC on social media platform X, where the university said: “If you are in the center of campus, please leave. People who do not leave may be arrested.”
When officers arrived, protesters were chanting and some people were beating drums.
“Today we saw heavy police activity on campus. Earlier today, we had set up a camp here with about a hundred members,” said Zain Khan, a USC student journalist, who added that LAPD officers came to the campus and a dispersal warning with most protesters leaving peacefully.
“DPS and the LAPD escorted them out and basically cleared the area,” Zain added. There were no reports of conflict or violence breaking out.
In a statement, Joel Curran, Senior Vice President of Communications at USC, said:
“Earlier today, the University of Southern California Department of Public Safety (DPS) successfully removed the illegal encampment that had been rebuilt on the university campus. It was necessary to request the Los Angeles Police Department to respond to ensure safety to provide as this was done peacefully No Arrests have been reported We would like to thank LAPD for assisting DPS in clearing the camp and restoring normalcy to students and the community as quickly and safely as possible share more information with our community today.
Earlier this week, USC President Carol Folt said the school had begun disciplinary investigations against individuals who had “violated our policies and the law.” She did not reveal how many people are involved in the investigation. The disciplinary investigation followed April 24, arrests of 93 people on campus after a confrontation between protesters in the encampment and the police.
USC has been the subject of student protests over the war in Gaza, as well as the government’s decision to do so cancel a graduation speech by valedictorian Asna Tabassum, a Muslim student who has publicly supported the Palestinians. The university made that decision in mid-April, saying it had security concerns after receiving threats. Some Jewish groups had criticized the student’s choice as speaker.
Administrators later canceled the entire main stage event scheduled for May 10, when 65,000 people were expected to gather to celebrate the graduates. Other commencement activities, including graduation ceremonies for individual schools and colleges, are still scheduled for Thursday through Sunday. Access to the private campus has been largely restricted to people not affiliated with the university since late April.
