Dozens arrested at USC protests

Dozens of student protesters at the University of Southern California (USC) were arrested Wednesday night amid escalating tensions on college campuses throughout the country over the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

The demonstrators were arrested peacefully after police gave them warnings to disperse or be detained, The Associated Press reported. Police officers detained the students, who were locking arms, one-by-one, according to the newswire.

USC’s Department of Public Safety issued a series of alerts Wednesday saying there was “significant activity” in the center of campus due to a demonstration. The department warned that officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) would arrest students who did not disperse from the area.

Officials also said Wednesday night that the campus was closed after the demonstrations.

“The protest on the [University Park Campus] has ended,” the alert from the safety department reads. “However, the campus remains closed until further notice. Students, faculty, staff, and people with business on campus may enter with proper identification.”

USC’s campus was already on edge after the school announced canceled a speech from its valedictorian due to security risks, after she had links to pro-Palestinian sites on her social media.

These arrests are the latest in a series of campus incidents involving pro-Palestinian student protesters. Tensions began rising last week at Columbia University, where school officials requested the New York Police Department to respond to a demonstration on the campus, where students had set up an encampment.

Ahead of the USC arrests Wednesday, police had also detained students protesting at the University of Texas at Austin campus. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) weighed in on the demonstrations, saying those protesters “belong in jail,” as arrests were being made.

The Hill has reached out to USC for comment.