The disturbances thrust UCLA to the centre of weeks of tensions at US college campuses, which saw protests against Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza [Getty]
The University of California, Los Angeles, was sued on Thursday over a 2024 mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters at the height of the US campus protest movement against Israel’s war in Gaza, a court filing showed.
In one of the most violent incidents from US protests related to the Gaza war, masked assailants, described by officials as “instigators,” stormed the tent camp of pro-Palestinian protesters with clubs and poles. The encampment occupants said fireworks were also hurled at them.
The situation continued for at least three hours into the early morning of May 1 before police moved in and restored order. The following night, hundreds of police officers raided the encampment, arresting over 200 people.
“Not a single member of the mob attack was arrested that night, even though police and private security watched from just a few yards away as the attack raged for hours and was broadcast live to millions of people,” the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles superior court, said.
The office of the University of California’s president said the suit was being reviewed and the university rejects violence and “all forms of hate, harassment and discrimination.”
The disturbances thrust UCLA to the centre of weeks of tensions at US college campuses, which saw protests against Israel’s ongoing military assault that has killed over 49,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and led to genocide and war crimes accusations that Israel denies.
The UCLA police chief who was criticised for the handling of the attack left the campus police department last year.
