The latest school to be hit by pro-Hamas protests is UC Irvine, where students took over a building, built barricades, chanted “from the river to the sea” and other antisemitic slogans, and shielded themselves with umbrellas. In other words, the usual.
🚨BREAKING🚨 UC Irvine’s Palestine encampment has overtaken the science lecture hall on campus. pic.twitter.com/00ZBznhAXW
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) May 15, 2024
But UC Irvine administrators didn’t react weakly like how we’ve seen from so many other universities like Harvard, Columbia, and UCLA, where authorities have allowed violent encampments to take over schools and make life miserable for students who aren’t down for the cause—especially Jewish ones.
Nope, they weren’t going to take it, and they immediately called in law enforcement.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a UC Irvine spokesperson said that the campus erupted into chaos after several hundreds of protesters entered the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall on the California campus and began to barricade the building at 2:30 p.m. PST.
The university said that they put out a call to local law enforcement and received immediate assistance from the Irvine Police Department and Orange County Sheriff’s department.
After hundreds of anti-Israel protesters swarmed campus buildings and set up barricades at the University of California, Irvine, local law enforcement agencies responded and students were ordered to “shelter in place” on Wednesday.
And these officers came ready for whatever they might face:
Footage from the campus showed law enforcement, dressed in protest gear and holding semi-automatic rifles, clashing with anti-Israel agitators.
🚨Drone footage I took of police making arrests on students in helmets and gas masks at UC Irvine – follow for live updates pic.twitter.com/XHm9aaPVZP
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) May 16, 2024
This whiny entitled professor cannot believe she isn’t above the law:
A tenured UC Irvine professor (of global studies) is being arrested for protesting alongside students: “We cannot have a genocidal foreign policy in a democracy.” pic.twitter.com/cLkzeVmdQa
— The Latifah (@TheLatifah) May 16, 2024
Administrators had earlier canceled classes for the day and warned students to shelter in place:
Authorities said that the protesters who entered the campus on Wednesday afternoon joined the established encampment that had been occupying the campus since April 29.
In a X post, UC Irvine told students to “shelter in place” as police descended onto the campus.
“Protest has escalated near Physical Science Quad. Avoid the area,” the social media post said. “If you are in the area, shelter in place for your safety until further notice.”
“We are continuing to monitor the situation and strongly urge people to stay away from the campus,” the school said.
Some of the extremists who get arrested may soon be in for a shock, though, as Fox News reporter Bill Melugin noted:
The Orange County DA doesn’t mess around. If any of these protesters get arrested they aren’t gonna get the LA treatment. https://t.co/sX2OES1Pih
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 15, 2024
He’s referring to Republican Orange County District Todd Spitzer, who is no weak-kneed soft-on crime DA like LA County’s George Gascón, who would stand there watching someone steal a car and do nothing about it. Spitzer in fact has harshly criticized Gascón in the past for his criminal-loving approach, so if his office gets involved, don’t expect kid-glove treatment for the vandalistic, anything but “peaceful” protesters.
This situation is still unfolding as of this writing and we’ll keep you updated as needed.
How not to do it:
The Harvard University Pro-Hamas Encampment Ends, and Administrators Should Be Ashamed
Columbia Concedes, Cancels Main University-Wide Commencement Ceremony Because of the Radicals
YouTube Personality Gives Master Class in Trolling at UCLA Pro-Hamas Protests, Exposes Utter Hypocrisy
