Local photojournalist among 57 arrested at UT protest

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A local photojournalist was among those who spent the night in jail amid protests at the University of Texas at Austin Wednesday.

The photographer said he was with Fox 7 and said he was pushed and was accused of hitting an officer, which he said he didn’t do. KXAN saw the photographer detained, along with his gear. The photojournalist has since been released from the Travis County jail. It is unknown if he faces charges.

The incident involving the photojournalist occurred as law enforcement was pushing people back off the lawn in an attempt to get them to disperse.

As of Thursday morning, the Travis County Sheriff’s office said 57 arrests were made by law enforcement on the UT campus.

Who organized the protest?

The protest organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee of Austin began just before noon with a walkout of class and a march to “occupy” the South Lawn, according to a social media post. It said it planned to demand the administration divest, or withdraw its investments, from Israel.

Organizers of the protest told protesters to “bring blankets, food and water, face masks and lots of energy. As a reminder please be sure to respect our space and listen to organizers in order to help keep us all safe.”

A follow-up post outlined a schedule for the day including guest speakers, study breaks and an art workshop that was supposed to be scheduled for 7 p.m.

The University sent protest organizers a letter the day before, telling them to cancel the protest because it violated university rules and disrupt campus operations.

“Such disruptions are never allowed and are especially damaging while our students prepare for the end of the semester and final exams. For these reasons, this event may not proceed as planned,” the letter stated, adding students who attend may be disciplined — including suspension — and community members who do not disperse could be arrested.

The protest

As protesters began gathering, UT Police Department and DPS troopers started walling off the south lawn where their march was to finish. Some members of law enforcement were on bicycles and horses. DPS troopers dressed in riot gear.

In a statement to KXAN, DPS said it responded to the UT campus “at the request of the University and at the direction of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in order to prevent any unlawful assembly and to support UT Police in maintaining the peace by arresting anyone engaging in any sort of criminal activity, including criminal trespass.”

Around 12:30 p.m. DPS gave protesters a two-minute warning to disperse, according to a Tweet from Nexstar’s Ryan Chandler, then began forcefully moving and detaining people. The Austin Police Department said it was helping UTPD transport those arrested away from campus.

Nexstar reporter Monica Madden noted a change in what protesters were chanting. Around 4 p.m., it was more focused on the presence of DPS on campus — including calls of “off our campus” — instead of pro-Palestine chants.

Eventually, law enforcement was able to clear people from the south lawn, completely blocking it around 4:30 p.m. Within the hour, it had moved crowds to outside Sutton Hall.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m., UT Police Assistant Chief Ashley Griffin issued a dispersal order to those still present. The statement was read over campus loudspeakers.

While the agency said it would not discuss “operational specifics,” it said it will continue adjusting operations to assist law enforcement, as well as “maintain the public’s safety.”

Some protesters returned to the south lawn after law enforcement left shortly after 6 p.m. KXAN reporter Grace Reader said protests later in the evening had calmed down significantly.

A smaller group of counter-protesters were also in the area during the day, and told Nexstar’s Monica Madden they did not feel threatened or unsafe throughout the day.

UT president releases statement

Later in the evening Wednesday, UT President Jay Hartzell released the following statement in response to the UT protest.

Dear UT community,
This has been a challenging day for many. We have witnessed much activity we normally do not experience on our campus, and there is understandably a lot of emotion surrounding these events.

Today, our University held firm, enforcing our rules while protecting the Constitutional right to free speech. Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable. Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed. The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate Institutional Rules. Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied.

The protesters tried to deliver on their stated intent to occupy campus. People not affiliated with UT joined them, and many ignored University officials’ continual pleas for restraint and to immediately disperse. The University did as we said we would do in the face of prohibited actions. We were prepared, with the necessary support to maintain campus operations and ensure the safety, well-being and learning environment for our more than 50,000 students.

We are grateful for the countless staff members and state and University law enforcement officers, as well as support personnel who exercised extraordinary restraint in the face of a difficult situation that is playing out at universities across the country. There is a way to exercise freedom of speech and civil discourse, and our Office of the Dean of Students has continued to offer ways to ensure protests can happen within the rules. The University of Texas will continue to take necessary steps so that all our University functions proceed without interruption.
Sincerely yours,

Jay Hartzell
President

Another letter, this time from “concerned UT Austin faculty” who are a part of the UT Austin Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, promised another protest Thursday, in response to how the university and law enforcement handled the Wednesday protest. The Texas State Employees Union had already planned a protest related to the firing of employees whose roles were linked to diversity, equity and inclusion. However, it decided to “cede” the space and reschedule its original plan.

We, faculty of UT Austin, condemn President Jay Hartzell and our administrative leaders’ decision to invite city police as well as state troopers from across the state — on horses, motorcycles and bicycles, in riot gear and armed with batons, pepper spray, tear gas and guns to our campus today in response to a planned peaceful event by our students. The Palestine Solidarity Committee had planned a day-long “Public University for Gaza” educational event today on UT Austin’s main lawn. The event was to have included teach-ins, study sessions, pizza, and an art workshop. There was no threat of violence, no plan to disrupt classes, no intimidation of the campus community.

Instead of allowing our students to go ahead with their peaceful planned action, our leaders turned our campus into a militarized zone. Police and state troopers with no clear plan of action initially blocked off, divided, cordoned and intimidated students to prevent them from gathering on the lawn. Eventually, police and troopers took over the Speedway. Students then occupied the empty lawn where police and troopers pushed the bulk of the crowd against the wall of UT Austin’s hallowed fountain. At last count, several hours ago, fifteen students had been arrested. Arrests are ongoing. We are deeply concerned for our students’ well-being and safety. We have witnessed police punching a female student, knocking over a legal observer, dragging a student over a chain link fence, and violently arresting students simply for standing at the front of the crowd. After 5pm the university police issued a mass evacuation order.

There can be no business as usual when our campus is occupied by city police and state troopers who are preventing our students from engaging in a peaceful demonstration of their first amendment rights. By bringing militarized and armed forces onto our campus, and refusing to call them off even with ample evidence of police abuse and endangerment of students, you have made our entire campus community unsafe. You have put our entire student body at risk.

No business as usual tomorrow. No classes. No grading. No work. No assignments. Gather at the main mall in front of UT Tower at 12:15pm as planned with TSEU.

This is #NotOurTexas.

UT Austin Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine

Ryan Chandler, Monica Madden, Grace Reader and Nabil Remadna contributed to this report.