EXPOSITION PARK, LOS ANGELES () — A rally by pro-Palestinian demonstrators turned chaotic Wednesday morning at USC’s Alumni Park, as campus police confronted protesters who attempted to set up an encampment.
Dozens of students and non-students began an “occupation” of the park and issued a list of demands, including university divestment from any organizations that “profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation in Palestine.”
Shortly before noon, USC Department of Public Safety officers moved in and began attempting to clear the encampment of tents and signs, leading to a tense confrontation. They were later joined by about 20 Los Angeles Police Department officers as the LAPD issued a tactical alert.
The protesters’ actions added USC to a growing list of college campuses across the nation that have seen encampments and ongoing protests over the continuing Israel-Hamas war, most notably Columbia University.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators surrounded a USC campus police vehicle during a chaotic protest at the university’s Alumni Park.
Alumni Park is scheduled to host the university’s already headline-making commencement ceremony on May 10.
Organizers of the USC occupation issued a statement saying the action is “in solidarity with the people of Palestine as they resist genocide and continue in their struggle for liberation.”
“The occupation is also in resistance to attempts by USC and other universities to suppress the student movement for Palestine on its campuses, in resistance to the silencing of students that criticize the state of Israel, in resistance to the university administrators and boards of trustees who profit off the genocide of Palestinians.”
Several dozen protesters began the encampment early Wednesday morning. Campus Department of Public Safety officers initially visited the encampment, instructing students not to hang signs, flags or other materials from trees and posts in the park, and warning them not to use megaphones.
As of noon, no arrests had been announced in connection with the protest.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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