Pro-Palestinian protesters took over a building at the University of California, Los Angeles, yesterday, Thursday, while campus police monitored the situation as staff sheltered inside.
Eric Frost Hollins, a spokesperson for the university, said a group of 50 to 100 people surrounded the exits on the first floor and prevented access to hallways surrounding the building, leading the university to ask employees to shelter in place, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The university announced on its website that all classes at the main campus would be held remotely until further notice,
while photos from the site documented graffiti on the walls of the building, overturned golf carts, and tables blocking the front plaza of the university building.
Police had thwarted attempts to establish a new camp at the University of California, Los Angeles, last Tuesday, and stated in a press release at the time that they had arrested about 25 people for intentionally disrupting university operations, and one person who obstructed a police officer's work.
The University of California, Los Angeles, has experienced repeated disruptions due to how the university administration has dealt with opposition to the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, and several academic researchers went on strike on May 20 to protest unfair treatment in the university's handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent weeks.