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Pro-Palestinian Activists File Civil Rights Lawsuit Against UCLA Over 2024 Campus Violence

The lawsuit accuses UCLA and law enforcement of negligence, excessive force, and systemic anti-Palestinian bias during protests and a violent attack on a campus encampment.

FILE - Demonstrators gather on the UCLA campus after nighttime clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Image
A person wearing a mask stands as pro-Palestinian protesters face off with CHP officers near an encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 1, 2024. REUTERS/David Swanson/File photo
Pro-Palestine demonstrators occupy an encampment on the campus of UCLA on April 25, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Activists at UCLA have joined a range of campuses across the United States who have started encampments to call on their universities to divest financial ties from Israel. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SGNG)

Overview

  • The lawsuit, filed by 35 plaintiffs, alleges UCLA failed to protect pro-Palestinian protesters during a violent April 2024 attack by counterprotesters, resulting in severe injuries.
  • Law enforcement agencies are accused of using excessive force, including firing projectiles at protesters and unlawfully arresting over 200 people during a May 1, 2024, raid on the encampment.
  • The plaintiffs claim systemic anti-Palestinian bias at UCLA and seek compensation for physical and psychological harm, as well as policy changes to ensure protest safety.
  • The UCLA police chief resigned in May 2024 following criticism of the response to the April 30 attack, during which no counterprotesters were arrested despite hours of violence.
  • Pro-Palestinian activism continues at UCLA, with ongoing protests calling for divestment from companies linked to Israel and heightened campus tensions over free speech and discrimination.