After a tense stand-off at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), hundreds of police in riot gear launched a pre-dawn raid on an encampment filled with about 400 peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters, forcing them to disperse with flash-bangs and batons.....
After a tense stand-off at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), hundreds of police in riot gear launched a pre-dawn raid on an encampment filled with about 400 peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters, forcing them to disperse with flash-bangs and batons. The operation to clear the encampment advanced after police issued a second order to disperse or face arrest just before 1am local time (08:00 GMT) on Thursday. California Highway Patrol officers gained partial entry to the encampment of tents, which was protected by a barricade of plywood palettes, but they were forced to beat a temporary retreat after protesters resisted arrest. By 2:30am (09:30 GMT), the police numbers were bolstered with busloads of reinforcements arriving near Royce Hall, an auditorium located outside the encampment. An hour later, the stand-off had entered its endgame, with police pushing back protesters who linked arms outside the encampment. They wrenched down the palettes and threw p...