Pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have been shaking universities across the United States have extended their reach to more campuses, provoking discussion from a high-ranking Republican leader that the National Guard might be deployed. These remarks from House Speaker Mike Johnson are likely to stir strong emotions in a nation where the 1970 killings of unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War by the National Guard persist in the collective memory. On Wednesday, demonstrations erupted at the University of Southern California and in Texas, where there was a tense standoff between students and police in riot gear, resulting in over 20 arrests. This was just the most recent clash between law enforcement and students who are enraged by the rising death toll in Israel’s conflict with Hamas. The movement first surfaced at Columbia University in New York, where dozens of arrests were made last week after the university administration summoned the police to quell an occupation that Jewish students claimed was hostile and antisemitic. Johnson informed reporters at Columbia on Wednesday that if the demonstrations were not swiftly contained, “it would be an appropriate time for the National Guard.” He stated, “We must restore order on these campuses.” He stated that he intended to urge US President Joe Biden to “take action” and cautioned that the demonstrations pose a threat to Jewish students in the United States. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden upholds free speech. She informed reporters, “The president thinks that free expression, argument, and non-discrimination are crucial on college campuses.” Following the Hamas assault on October 7, which claimed the lives of about 1,170 people according to an Agence France-Presse compilation of Israeli official figures, Israel, an ally of the US, started its campaign in Gaza. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Palestinian students claim to be showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 34,200, and they urge Columbia and other universities to divest from companies that have connections to Israel. The protesters, some of whom are Jewish, have denounced instances of antisemitism. However, supporters of Israel and others concerned about campus safety have pointed to anti-Semitic incidents and asserted that campuses promote hate speech and intimidation. When Texas dispatched police in riot gear to the University of Texas in Austin, where hundreds of protesters staged a boisterous walkout while chanting “down with occupation,” Johnson’s visit to Columbia took place. According to the police, they had detained more than 20 people, and the state’s governor, Greg Abbott, demanded quick punishment. On social media, he wrote, “These demonstrators belong in jail.” Any public college or university in Texas should expel students who participate in hateful, anti-Semitic protests. After hundreds of students started what they were calling an occupation on the campus of the University of Southern California, police arrived on the scene in Los Angeles. Students chanted, “Free Palestine!” as well as the contentious slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which some people interpret as a call for the destruction of Israel. According to Yaseen El-Magharbel, a biology student, “We’re all here to stand up for our brothers and sisters in Palestine, who right now have no voice.” The institution announced that it would be closing its campus to outsiders, although classes and other activities would continue as usual. Students have also organized protests at universities like Yale, MIT, UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and Brown. At Harvard University, social media footage depicted the growth of an encampment. After protestors barricaded themselves in a campus building, classes were moved online, and other on-campus events were canceled at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. More than 130 people were detained in New York University on Monday night during a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Additionally, nine people were reportedly detained by police at the University of Minnesota during an encampment. According to NBC, the FBI is collaborating with universities to combat anti-Semitic threats and potential violence related to the ongoing protests. Students and administrators had struck an uneasy truce before Johnson’s visit to Columbia. The university had set a Tuesday midnight deadline for the group to disperse, but students stated on social media that the school granted a 48-hour extension as more people joined the demonstration. Organizers with Columbia University Apartheid Divest said they consented to the ongoing negotiations after the school promised not to involve the police or the National Guard. In a social media post, the organization stated, “We worry that Columbia risks another massacre like Jackson State or Kent State.” In 1970, the National Guard used fatal force against demonstrators at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four unarmed students and injuring nine. Eleven days later, police in Mississippi confronted student protesters at Jackson State and opened fire, killing two and injuring twelve.
Pro-Palestinian Protests Spread Across US Campuses, Sparking National Guard Deployment Suggestions
