Demonstrators sue UCLA over handling of pro-Palestinian protests
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- A group of demonstrators who took part in last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests at UCLA are suing the university and law enforcement agencies, alleging they were unlawfully arrested.
- They also allege their civil rights were violated, they suffered lasting injuries and were left unprotected while exercising free speech.
- A UC spokesperson said the university “unequivocally rejects all forms of hate, harassment and discrimination.”
Dozens of demonstrators who took part in last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests at UCLA — including the encampment that came under attack — are suing the university and law enforcement agencies, alleging they were unlawfully arrested, their civil rights were violated, they suffered lasting injuries and were left unprotected while exercising free speech.
The complaint, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, names UCLA, UCLA Police, the University of California, the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol as defendants. Thirty-five people associated with multiple spring protests at UCLA — students, faculty, journalists, legal observers and protesters unaffiliated with UCLA — are plaintiffs.
The suit also names 20 individuals as defendants, alleging they participated in a vigilante group that violently stormed the encampment over an hours-long overnight period beginning April 30. Since the vast majority of attackers have not been arrested, the complaint uses media reports, social media postings and videos to identify alleged perpetrators.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare protesters’ arrests to be illegal and instruct the university that it cannot declare a protest unlawful “merely on the suspicion” that it violates campus rules or the law. UCLA has contended that it followed the law in shutting down protests.
The suit also asks for unspecified monetary damages that would begin at $25,000 and increase depending on the alleged legal violations against each plaintiff.
UCLA launches effort to fight antisemitism as Trump says more pro-Palestinian activist arrests ahead
The Trump administration warned 60 universities, including in California, to increase enforcement against antisemitism or face consequences. The same day, UCLA launched a new antisemitism effort amid federal investigations of the campus.
“The events at UCLA highlight systemic anti-Palestinian bias and the administration’s failure to uphold its obligation to protect the rights of students and faculty to engage in peaceful protest and expression,” the lawsuit alleged. “This action seeks to hold UCLA accountable for its failure to address and prevent Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab discrimination, its violation of civil rights of all pro-Palestinian protesters — a group comprised of a wide range of people including Jewish people,” the suit said.
Stett Holbrook, a UC spokesperson, said the university was aware of the suit. “We want to be clear: the University of California unequivocally rejects all forms of hate, harassment and discrimination. Violence of any kind has no place at UC,” Holbrook said. “We have instituted system-wide reforms to promote safety and combat harassment and discrimination on our campuses. Our focus remains to maintain a UC that is safe and welcoming to all.”
Spokespeople for the LAPD and CHP said they do not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit joins a string of legal actions tied to the encampment on Royce Quad that went up April 25.
Last July, Jewish students and a faculty member sued the university in federal court, accusing UCLA of enabling the encampment to allegedly block Jews from certain campus pathways. The Trump administration made a filing this week supporting the ongoing suit. Protesters deny that they excluded anyone based upon religion or ethnicity.
In October, the American Civil Liberties Union sued in state court on behalf of two students and two faculty members — one who is part of the newest lawsuit — on grounds that their free speech rights were violated and that they were illegally arrested during protests.
The Justice Department filed documents supporting the right of students and faculty to sue and accusing UCLA of trying to ‘evade responsibility’ for alleged antisemitism.
Multiple federal departments under the Trump administration have also selected UCLA for investigations into alleged antisemitism stemming from pro-Palestinian campus protests.
The UCLA encampment was one of the largest built on college campuses across the U.S. as a student movement swelled in the months after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s war in Gaza. Activists at UCLA and elsewhere demanded universities divest from investments tied to weapons companies or Israel, as well as halt study abroad programs in Israel and cut or eliminate policing on campus.
Multiple University of California reviews found that UCLA administrators failed to quickly coordinate with law enforcement agencies that arrived on campus April 30. A Los Angeles Police Commission report also faulted the university. Police broke apart the encampment on May 1 and 2 and arrested more than 200 people. Additional smaller, shorter encampments sprung up over the weeks, including a June 10 one cited in the lawsuit that ended in roughly two dozen arrests and injuries from rubber bullets.
In response to campus tensions, UCLA launched a new campus safety office, contracted with additional security patrols, and redrew campus protest rules to restrict free speech areas. It enacted a “zero tolerance” for campus conduct violations such as overnight camping or the use of face coverings while violating the law. Critics say the university has unevenly enforced its rules.
At 86 pages, Thursday’s lawsuit is one of the most extensive treatments in or outside of court to analyze events at the encampment that have left a deep and lingering mark on campus.
As part of the suit, several protesters detail how they believe they suffered from the university and law enforcement’s treatment. They cite broken bones, post-traumatic stress disorder, nerve damage and ongoing mental health concerns.
One is Thistle Boosinger, an artist and musician who joined the encampment. During the mob attack, a vigilante smashed her hand with a metal rod, leading to broken bones and nerve damage, Boosinger said in the complaint.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday, she said she has had multiple unsuccessful surgeries, has gone into medical debt and cannot “lay my hand flat on a table or make a fist without terrible pain.”
“My main passion and source of income as a Taiko drummer is over,” said Boosinger, who was not a UCLA student. “UCLA not only watched and did nothing” but “values investment portfolio over the lives and safety of real people.”
Student Faraaz Qureshi also details his experience. Qureshi, who was in the camp when police raided it overnight on May 1 and 2, said he was shot four times by rubber bullets — once on his right pinkie finger, twice in the chest and once in the back. The shot to the finger, the suit said, caused “extensive soft tissue damage.”
“Qureshi continues to experience significant pain and limited mobility in his finger” that has “directly impacted his ability to perform daily tasks and he remains unable to work,” the lawsuit said.
Graeme Blair, an associate professor of political science, explains in the suit how attackers on April 30 sprayed “chemical munitions” in his face — it is unclear which kind — leaving a burning sensation for hours. He also recounts his May 2 arrest and says he “continues to suffer psychologically and emotionally” and has been diagnosed with PTSD.
“With this lawsuit, I hope to see a measure of accountability for what happened this spring,” Blair said Thursday.
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