Arrests at USC amid pro-Palestine protests nationwide; Southern California campus closed

Police arrested protesters Wednesday at the University of Southern California campus, which closed to the public Wednesday amid clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and authorities at the school and nationwide.

Arrests were actively being made on campus Wednesday evening, a Los Angeles police spokesperson told USA TODAY. The spokesperson said he could not provide an estimate on how many people were detained though some media reports were putting the number in the dozens.

The university closed the main campus due to the "significant activity on campus," USC's Department of Public Safety said in an alert to students. Everyone on the campus could still leave but students were required to enter through pedestrian gates using their school IDs.

Hundreds of students and off-campus activists protested for hours at the university on Wednesday, joining movements at colleges across the country demanding that universities cut any ties with Israel and call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

"If you are in the center of campus, please leave; LAPD will be arresting people who don’t disperse," USC's Department of Public Safety wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Organizers set up an encampment in the early morning hours at Alumni Park, the center of the campus where USC's main-stage commencement ceremony is set to take place next month. Students held signs that read "Free Palestine," "Ceasefire" and "No war w/ out tuition," among others.

Live updates: Columbia says encampments will scale down; police clashes at more campuses

Videos show clashes between police and protesters

Los Angeles police dressed in riot gear and marching in formation on the campus shortly before the arrests.

Videos posted on social media captured various clashes throughout the day, including an incident where students reportedly blocked a school car with a detained protester inside.

Arrests follow protests over valedictorian speech cancelation

Wednesday's protests come less than a week after students, faculty and pro-Palestinian activists rallied at USC on April 18 to protest the cancelation of valedictorian Asna Tabassum's speech.

On April 15, USC announced that Tabassum would no longer deliver her speech after the discussion about her selection took on "an alarming tenor" on social media. Critics complained about Tabassum's Instagram bio that linked to a pro-Palestine website, arguing that she spouted "anti-semitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric."

The school also canceled appearances from outside speakers and honorees at the May 10 ceremony.

Tabassum, a South Asian-American and Muslim student who studies biomedical engineering and resistance to genocide, issued a statement after USC's decision.

"I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred. I am surprised that my own university ? my home for four years ? has abandoned me," Tabassum said in the statement, issued through the Council on American-Islamic Relations L.A. branch.

Rallies ensue across US campuses

Protests were held across the nation Wednesday at USC, the University of Texas in Austin and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others. Protesters, many of whom aren't affiliated with the schools, are demanding for an end to the civilian casualties in Gaza.

Columbia University said protesters had agreed to scale down their encampment but student protesters issued a statement saying the New York school made a written promise to not call the NYPD or the National Guard in what they called "an important victory for students.”

Police made nine arrests at the University of Minnesota campus in St. Paul and cleared an encampment at the school's request, citing violations of university policy and trespassing law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the protests, calling them "horrific'' and saying, "Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities.''

Contributing: John Bacon, Eduardo Cuevas, Jorge L. Ortiz

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USC Palestine protesters arrested, campus closed Wednesday