Abbott says pro-Palestine protesters at UT Austin ‘belong in prison’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said pro-Palestinian protesters on the University of Texas at Austin campus “belong in prison” and that arrests were being made.

“Arrests are being made now and will continue until the crowd disperses. These protesters should be in prison,” Abbott posted on social platform.

Texas State Police detained at least four protesters Wednesday on the UT Austin campus after hundreds of students walked out of classes and began a demonstration to support civilians in Gaza.

The university prepared for the protests that began at noon, with the student affairs office sending out a statement warning students that there would be consequences for participating in the protest.

Abbott said students who join “hate-filled anti-Semitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.”

It was not immediately clear whether there were anti-Semitic chants at the University of Texas demonstrations.

The protests at UT Austin mirror protests on several other college campuses. Tensions rose in New York City, where more than 100 students were arrested at Columbia University for setting up camps on school property and protesting.

College protests across the country have often included Jewish students, some of whom have rejected suggestions of anti-Semitism. Videos taken near Columbia University in New York show Jewish students being told to return to Poland and include pro-Hamas chants. But some of these cases have also been attributed to non-student protesters.

Students are angry that their First Amendment right to peacefully protest has been taken away by university officials. In 2019, Abbott signed a bill that would protect free speech on Texas college campuses.

“I shouldn’t have to do this. The First Amendment guarantees that.” he said in a video after he signed the bill. “Now, it’s law in Texas.”

The Hill has reached out to Abbott’s office for further comment.