Live: UT-Austin professors, students hold protest; Palestine Solidarity Committee suspended
After more than 50 arrests were made at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas on Wednesday, professors joined students for another walkout and protest Thursday.
The Palestine Solidarity Committee, the registered student organization and chapter of Students for Justice at Palestine, organized Wednesday's walkout and intent to take over the South Lawn by the UT Tower. They were immediately met by local police and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers. The state agency said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that it had responded to the campus at the request of the university and the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott.
Fifty-seven people were booked into the Travis County Jail in connection to the protest, Travis County sheriff's office spokesperson Kristen Dark said Thursday morning.
All have had their charges disposed, Dark said, but it was unclear how many people had been released from the jail as of Thursday morning.
On Wednesday night, the Palestine Solidarity Committee posted a new call to "Stand with the Arrested, Stand with Gaza," urging both professors and students to head to the Main Mall at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, when a rally against a state ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public universities was already planned.
This story will be updated throughout the day.
Palestine Solidarity Committee placed on interim suspension, UT says
The Palestine Solidarity Committee has been placed on interim suspension "due to alleged violation of institutional rules," UT spokesperson Mike Rosen said. It was unclear how long the suspension would last.
Asked to specify which institutional rules the committee had violated, Rosen said he could not elaborate.
— Lily Kepner
UT President Jay Hartzell addresses university's response to Wednesday's protest
UT President Jay Hartzell emailed the campus community Thursday evening to address the reasons behind the university's response to Wednesday's protest, saying the event was designed to be disruptive to the campus.
His message was similar to a statement that UT spokesperson Brian Davis had shared with the American-Statesman earlier Thursday.
"The University’s decision to not allow yesterday’s event to go as planned was made because we had credible indications that the event’s organizers, whether national or local, were trying to follow the pattern we see elsewhere, using the apparatus of free speech and expression to severely disrupt a campus for a long period," Hartzell wrote.
"Consistent with this broader movement that is impacting so many, problematic aspects of the planned protest were modeled after a national organization’s protest playbook."
Hartzell also said that 26 out of 55 people arrested were not UT affiliated, something the statement shared by Davis also said.
— Lily Kepner
UT operating as normal; camping and demonstrations banned after 10 p.m.
In a 7 p.m. post on X, UT said it is "fully operational and has normal hours." The university had shared a notice warning that everyone must leave the Main Mall or other university property no later than 10 p.m. under UT policy, but the notice "only applied to camping and demonstrations," the post said.
The policy bans sleeping on university property with or without a tent.
UT student explains why he joined Thursday's protest
Richard Grijalva, a postdoctoral fellow at UT, came out to the Thursday protest because he was frustrated by the law enforcement response Wednesday.
“I’m appalled at the administrators’ decision to put state troopers and outside police agencies on peaceful protesters,” Grijalva said.
It’s important that students and faculty get the chance to speak freely on their own campus, Grijalva said, and he felt frustrated by UT President Jay Hartzell’s statement Wednesday night in which he criticized protesters' behavior and said UT "will not be occupied."
“Hartzell’s actions largely speak for us, and we don’t want to be represented by that kind of cynical policy,” Grijalva said.
— Keri Heath
Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas denounces arrest of FOX 7 Austin photographer
The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, a nonprofit that offers guidance to the public on First Amendment rights and open records laws, said in a statement Thursday that it "strongly denounces" the arrest of a FOX 7 news photographer who was covering Wednesday's protest.
The photographer, who identified himself as Carlos in a video shared on X, was charged with criminal trespassing, FOX 7 reporter Meredith Aldis said on X. Another FOX 7 reporter, Jessica Rivera, said he was released from jail Thursday morning.
"The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, which stands up for the First Amendment rights of free speech and free press, calls on law enforcement to respect those rights," the statement read. "That includes peaceful protest and news gathering. The police should not interfere with a working journalist doing his job covering the news in a public place."
UT says almost 26 people who were arrested Wednesday were not affiliated with university
In a statement shared by UT spokesperson Brian Davis, the university said 26 of the 55 people "who violated Institutional Rules and were ultimately arrested" during Wednesday's protest were not affiliated with UT. The statement also criticized the nature of the protest, saying it "sought to follow the playbook of the national campaign to paralyze the operations of universities across the country."
The statement said the "outside groups" that participated in the protest were part of efforts by Students for Justice in Palestine, the national organization of which the Palestine Solidarity Committee is a chapter, to "disrupt and create disorder."
It noted that 13 pro-Palestinian events have taken place largely without incident since October.
— Lily Kepner
Protesters disperse after about two hours
About two hours after the protest began, the protesters dispersed. By 2:15 p.m., people were standing in small groups, chatting in front of the UT Tower. A large circle of pro-Israeli student protesters, who had been chanting and singing Jewish songs, remained near the main square.
The law enforcement presence during Thursday's protest was notably less substantial than the previous day. About a dozen officers stood on the Tower steps and off to the side, observing the protest.
After the bigger crowd dispersed, students gathered on the lawn in front of the Tower around 2:30 p.m. Some protesters pulled out a string of chains strung through holes in orange traffic cones, a barrier that had already been in place Thursday morning.
Moments after students finished gathering up the chains and piled them in front of the George Washington statue, university staff picked up the heap of chains and began restringing them through the traffic cones.
Some students grumbled as they watched.
— Keri Heath
National Guard says it's ready but not yet needed for UT demonstrations
The National Guard has not deployed to the UT campus, the Texas Military Department said.
"While the Texas National Guard was aware and prepared to respond to the protests at UT yesterday, no Soldiers were dispatched to the campus during the event," the department said in an unsigned statement to news outlets. "DPS and law enforcement partners did not require assistance. The Texas National Guard is prepared to respond if requested."
Asked if Abbott has ordered or plans to order the guard into action during the UT demonstrations, spokesperson Renae Eze referred all questions on the matter to the Texas Military Department.
— John C. Moritz
Counterprotest in support of Israel gathers
As students drew into a circle to call out pro-Palestinian chants, about a few dozen students with the Longhorn Students for Israel gathered immediately next to the larger group.
The students waved Israeli flags and called out chants like "Let my people go."
For some of these students who don’t agree with the pro-Palestinian protesters, the police presence Wednesday was comforting.
Student Lily Caplan said she heard antisemitic speech during Wednesday’s protest and felt uncomfortable.
“There’s a fine line between free speech and hate speech,” student Lily Caplan said.
At times, the two groups called out opposing chants simultaneously. The pro-Israel students waved the flags and chanted, “Free the hostages,” while the pro-Palestinian protesters held signs and chanted, “Free Palestine.”
— Keri Heath
One of the first people arrested Wednesday reflects on experience
Ammer Qaddumi, one of the first people arrested on Wednesday, told the Statesman as he was leaving the Travis County Jail that his charges were dropped and that he had been released at about 11:30 a.m.
Qaddumi was featured by NBC in an article about feeling abandoned on campus by the University of Texas after Israelis disrupted a Palestinian event last fall.
Qaddumi wasn't sure if he would be heading back to the protest planned for Thursday, noting that he wanted to go home and relax a little bit.
He said the protest was peaceful and was escalated by the police, and that the university sought to "punish" students instead of hearing their grievances.
"We are going to continue to call for ... the protection of free speech of students and organizations who were involved in the demonstrations yesterday and over the last six months to ensure and demand that UT does not suspend these groups," Qaddumi said.
— Skye Seipp
FOX 7 Austin photographer released from jail after being arrested on criminal trespassing charge
A FOX 7 Austin photojournalist who was arrested while taking footage of Wednesday's protest was released from the Travis County Jail on Thursday morning, FOX 7 reporter Jessica Rivera said on X.
The photographer had identified himself as Carlos in a video shared on X. He was charged with criminal trespassing, FOX 7 reporter Meredith Aldis said on X, and Rivera said he was booked into the jail at 8:29 p.m. Wednesday.
Video footage posted on YouTube by FOX 7 Austin shows the photographer taking footage of the moment law enforcement began pushing back the protest line, resulting in the photographer being pushed into an officer. A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled him backward before detaining him, according to FOX 7 Austin.
Travis County court finds 'insufficient probable cause' for 46 criminal trespassing cases in Wednesday's protest
Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said her office received 46 cases, all for criminal trespassing, in connection to Wednesday's protest. Garza said her office reviewed each case and agreed with the defense counsel that there were "deficiencies" in the probable cause affidavits — the documents officers fill out to justify the arrest of an individual.
The court agreed there was "insufficient probable cause," Garza said, and ordered the release of all individuals.
"We will continue to individually review all cases presented to our office to make determinations on whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate," Garza said.
Those who were arrested and had their charges dropped did not have to pay bail.
George Lobb, an attorney with the Austin Lawyers Guild, said it's possible police could still press charges against those arrested, noting that law enforcement has two years to file charges on misdemeanor cases.
While some students may not be charged, there's a possibility they could face expulsion, according to statements made by Abbott.
— Skye Seipp
UT freshman released from jail, describes being 'grabbed' by police at Wednesday protest
Aiden Theis, a freshman at UT, was released from the Travis County Jail at 10 a.m. Thursday. He said he was skateboarding by the protest on the Speedway Mall when the protest began. After he finished class, he went to the South Mall with some other students as police were still on Speedway.
Theis said police were near the George Washington statue. He saw officers “grab” people, he said, and then they “forcibly” grabbed Theis' legs.
Theis said he was arrested around 3 p.m. and was taken to the jail with nine other students. He said he waited in a holding cell and talked to a judge around midnight.
Theis, who spoke to the Statesman outside the jail after being released, said he had protested to implore UT to divest from weapons manufacturers aiding Israel and for a stop to the violence in Gaza.
— Lily Kepner
Reporter injured in Wednesday protest says he was banged up some, but otherwise fine
David Montgomery, the veteran Austin reporter who was accidentally injured Wednesday in the protest, said Thursday that he was banged up a bit and suffered a bleeding cut on his head, but was otherwise fine.
"I went to the emergency clinic and they told me I was cut but didn't need stitches," said Montgomery, who was covering the protest as a freelancer for The New York Times and has been covering politics from Austin to Washington to Moscow for nearly six decades.
A Statesman photo of Montgomery being helped after the injury that was posted on X drew an outpouring of support from the reporter's fellow journalists from Texas and around the country and from some elected officials. The attention and concern, Montgomery told the Statesman, was heartening. And a little embarrassing.
"I really appreciate all the support, I really do," he said. "But I'm not crazy about publicity. Reporters are supposed to cover the news, not make the news."
The brief interview ended with Montgomery saying he had get back to work, filing a follow-up story on the protest for The Times.
— John C. Moritz
Scenes from Travis County Jail on Wednesday night
As protests died down on UT’s campus on Wednesday, many moved to the Travis County Jail into the afternoon hours, gathering in the Woodmansee Plaza breezeway with supplies, including cases of bottled water, snacks, pizza and blankets.
By the evening, among the crowd of about 200 people were parents or siblings waiting for their family members to be released on bond, alumni and an imam of a local mosque.
A group of younger people continued to chant slogans such as "Hey, hey, ho, ho, the occupation has got to go,” “Free Palestine” and “We want justice, you say how, stop arming Israel now.” Many of the older attendees discussed the day’s events while a group in the jail’s lobby navigated the bond process, filling out paperwork in dozens of clean vanilla folders.
The crowd kept up the megaphone-led chants into the evening. Two people were released just before 12:30 a.m., nearly 12 hours after the first arrests on campus. One was a UT student who was embraced by her parents in the jail lobby, drawing applause and cheers from the now-galvanized crowd. Her mother wiped away tears as they walked outside.
— Chase Rogers
DEI rally postponed to make way for pro-Palestinian protest Thursday, organizers say
The Texas State Employees Union had planned a rally Thursday afternoon at the UT campus to protest the firing of dozens of staff members under Texas' anti-DEI law. But the union said in a statement Thursday that it is ceding the location and time of the rally to UT's Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine "to discuss the events yesterday." The DEI rally is postponed to Monday.
"We do not condone the arrests and actions of State Troopers on our campus during a peaceful protest," the union's statement said.
— Lily Kepner
UT faculty group decries police response; Palestine Solidarity Committee calls for Hartzell's resignation
On Wednesday night, a statement from "concerned UT Austin Faculty" condemned Hartzell and leadership for the police response to the protest. The group said the protest had no threat of violence and was supposed to be educational.
"We have witnesses 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," the statement, circulating on social media Wednesday, said.
The Palestine Solidarity Committee has called for a cease-fire and for the university to stop investing in companies that they say profit from Israel’s invasion of Gaza. UT does not manage its own investments; those are handled by University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company, which oversees investments for the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems.
The Palestine Solidarity Committee is also now demanding the resignation of Hartzell, saying the "horrific act of violent repression by UT" was a violation of the group's First Amendment rights.
Hartzell sent a message to the campus community Wednesday night in which he did not acknowledge arrests, but thanked police and said UT "will not be occupied."
The faculty statement called for "no business as usual" on Thursday and urged all to gather.
— Lily Kepner