College protests updates: Police begin dismantling University of Chicago encampment

Police entered the campus encampment early Tuesday, WLS reported.

ByNadine El-Bawab, Bill Hutchinson, and Julia Reinstein
Last Updated: May 7, 2024, 2:01 PM EDT

Protests have broken out at colleges and universities across the country in connection with the war in Gaza.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters are calling for their colleges to divest of funds from Israeli military operations, while some Jewish students on the campuses have called the protests antisemitic and said they are scared for their safety.

The student protests -- some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments -- have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University in New York City. Students at schools including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Southern California and more have launched protests.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
May 02, 2024, 11:34 AM EDT

Biden says free speech and rule of law 'must be upheld'

President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Thursday saying that free speech and the rule of law must both be upheld.

"We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent, the American people are heard. In fact, peaceful protest is the best tradition of how Americans respond to controversial issues," Biden said, speaking from the White House.

But, he condemned the destruction of property, shutting down campuses and forcing the cancelation of classes and graduation, saying it isn't peaceful protest.

"Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education," Biden said.

President Joe Biden speaks about the protests over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, May 2, 2024, in Washington.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Biden last commented on college protests on April 22 -- before there was an escalation of suspension and arrests at campuses across the country -- at the time condemning antisemitic actions and those who don't understand the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, a message he reiterated Thursday.

"There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind whether it's anti-Semitism, islamophobia or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans. It’s simply wrong. There’s no place for racism in America," Biden said.

May 02, 2024, 11:22 AM EDT

Biden says protests have not pushed him to reconsider policies

President Joe Biden, making his first remarks on the surge in protests on college campuses, said the protests have not pushed him to reconsider his policies in the region.

"Mr. President, have the protests forced you to reconsider our policies?" a reporter asked Biden Thursday.

"No," Biden said, before walking away from the podium.

May 02, 2024, 10:53 AM EDT

At least 132 arrested at UCLA protests

At least 132 people were arrested on Thursday in protests at UCLA according to California Highway Patrol.

A California Highway Patrol officer detains a protester while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment after dispersal orders were given at the UCLA campus, on May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

May 02, 2024, 10:32 AM EDT

More than 70% of Columbia protesters arrested Tuesday were affiliated with university: NYPD

Thirty-two of the people arrested at Columbia University on Tuesday were not affiliated with the school, while 80 people were affiliated, based on a preliminary background analysis by the New York Police Department.

At City College of New York, 102 people arrested Tuesday night were not affiliated with the university, while 68 people were affiliated, based on the NYPD analysis.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky