More than 50 people were arrested at a peaceful, pro-Palestinian protest Wednesday at the University of Texas hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, a registered student group and a chapter of the national Students for Justice in Palestine, which held the rally to call for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

The Palestine Solidarity Committee planned the protest in solidarity with students across the U.S. who have been demanding their universities to divest from Israeli businesses and for the federal government to stop backing Israel's military as more than 30,000 people have died in Gaza amid the ongoing Mideast conflict.

About 54 people were being held at the Travis County Jail in relation to the protest, according to George Lobb, an attorney with the Austin Lawyers Guild who was assisting people who had been arrested. Twenty had been booked into the jail shortly after 8 p.m., Travis County sheriff's office spokesperson Kristen Dark said.

The protest had quieted shortly after 6 p.m., more than six hours after it began. Police pushed the protesters away from the UT campus toward Guadalupe Street, but a crowd of protesters returned to the campus's South Lawn and remained there as of 7:45 p.m.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that 34 people had been arrested in the protest as of 9 p.m.

UT professor says she expects Thursday rally to take pro-Palestine stance

Pavithra Vasudevan, a professor at UT, told the American-Statesman that students had planned an “educational” event about Palestine for the afternoon and had asked faculty members, including Vasudevan, to lead workshops. Vasudevan was present when police began arresting protesters.

“The president and university administration chose to militarize our campus in response … to students gathering to express themselves,” Vasudevan said.

Vasudevan said that faculty members had planned a rally Thursday around staff and program cuts under a state law banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public universities, but she now expected it to be focused on Wednesday’s events.

She told the Statesman that she was “motivated by students’ courage” in a university atmosphere that she described as “repressive.” She said that faculty members had been prohibited from discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict with students, but she felt that it was imperative to speak out.

“We cannot continue with business as usual,” Vasudevan said.

Travis County attorney urges protesters to leave UT campus Wednesday evening
Travis County Attorney Delia Garza issued a statement around 7 p.m. Wednesday asking the crowd to disperse "for the safety of all."

Garza said the protest and "the overwhelming police response to what appears to have been a peaceful demonstration should be concerning to all who believe in our constitution."

"We are working with defense attorneys of those arrested as we continue to investigate each case and determine if charges are necessary," Garza said in the statement. "We ask that anyone released not return to campus."

Source: Austin American-Statesman

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