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
108 protesters arrested, 4 police officers injured as Emerson encampment cleared
More than 100 people were arrested and four police officers were injured early Thursday when Boston police moved to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment at Emerson College. It is one of several set up by students at Massachusetts colleges including Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
Three of the officers suffered minor injuries and a fourth officer suffered more serious injuries, according to Boston police.
None of the protesters in custody have reported injuries, according to police. The protesters will be arraigned at Boston Municipal Court.
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."
Harvard University students begin encampment in Harvard Yard
Pro-Palestinian students at Harvard University began an encampment in Harvard Yard on Wednesday, despite the university closing it through Friday.
The encampment comes after Harvard suspended the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee -- an on-campus group that has been under a spotlight -- amid debates on campuses over the war. The ACLU of Massachusetts, which represents the group, has called for the university to lift the suspension.
Students and student workers released a statement Wednesday announcing their encampment, calling for the university to divest and accusing it of "relentlessly suppress[ing] voices in its community speaking out against the actions of the Israeli state and for the rights of the Palestinian people," the suspended group said in a statement on Instagram.
The group is also demanding that the university "drop all its charges against students for their organizing and activism, and commit to ending the weaponization of disciplinary policy," the statement said.
-ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab