College protests updates: Police crackdown leads to hundreds of arrests
Hundreds were arrested at USC, Emerson and UT Austin in the last day.
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:
- Arizona State University arrests 69 people, clears pro-Palestinian encampment
- Northeastern University detains 100 protesters, removes encampment
- NYU students set up new encampment days after over 130 students, faculty arrested
- Students arrested, charged with trespass at Ohio State University
- DPS says they used a Taser, pepper balls at Emory, but not tear gas
93 arrested following protest at USC
Police arrested 93 people on and around the University of Southern California campus, mostly on misdemeanor trespass Wednesday night.
The university declared the campus closed in the afternoon, open only to students with their USC IDs at pedestrian gates, due to what USC said "significant activity at the center of campus."
On Wednesday night, LAPD Captain Kelly Muniz told ABC News that around 35 protesters had been processed for misdemeanor trespass. Several dozen more were waiting to be processed, Muniz said.
There was an altercation in one portion of the protest area that resulted in one arrest for assault with a deadly weapon, according to Muniz.
There are no known injuries to police or protesters.
The scene will be cleared some time tonight., Muniz said.
-ABC News' Marilyn Heck
At least 34 arrested at UT Austin
At least 34 people had been arrested at the University of Texas at Austin as of 9 p.m. local time, according to the Texas Department of Safety.
"Today, our University held firm, enforcing our rules while protecting the Constitutional right to free speech. Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable," University President Jay Hartzell said in a statement Wednesday evening.
"Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed. The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate Institutional Rules. Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied."
"There is a way to exercise freedom of speech and civil discourse, and our Office of the Dean of Students has continued to offer ways to ensure protests can happen within the rules," Hartzell continued.
The dispersal order ended shortly after 9 p.m. and the campus was deemed "all clear," Austin Police said on X.
Dispersal order issued at USC amid protests
Campus police have issued a dispersal order at the University of Southern California amid ongoing protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
LAPD officers have surrounded Alumni Park on campus, and while much of the crowd has dispersed, an estimated group of 50 protesters remain in the park.
In an update shared on X Wednesday evening, the university’s Department of Public Safety said, "If you are in the center of campus, please leave; LAPD will be arresting people who don’t disperse."
House Speaker calls on Columbia president to resign if she can't control protests
During a visit to Columbia University, House Speaker Mike Johnson joined his New York House Republican colleagues in calling on the school's president, Minouche Shafik, to resign unless she can improve what he called her failure to handle the anti-Israel protests on campus.
During the news conference on the university's campus, Johnson said Shafik should step down "if she can't immediately bring order to this chaos."
"As speaker of the House, I am committing today that the Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from -- fighting in fear," Johnson said.
The scene at the news conference was rowdy itself, as Johnson and other House Republicans got booed and heckled throughout -- their words sometimes nearly drowned out by shouting from the crowd.
Shafik, who met with Johnson on Wednesday, and the rest of the university administration are committed to ensuring the safety of the campus community and ending the encampment, Columbia spokesman Ben Chang said in a briefing with reporters later on Wednesday.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Sarah Beth Hensley