Several civil rights groups are calling on the Departments of Justice and Education to investigate the police response to campus protests surrounding the Israel-Hamas war this academic year.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the National Urban League and several Arab and Jewish groups are demanding civil rights investigations into several schools that have seen demonstrations, including Columbia University, Emory University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, in Los Angeles (UCLA).
They want federal departments to “investigate allegations of police abuses – in response to peaceful protests taking place in cities and on college campuses across the country – that may violate federal laws.”
More than 2,000 people were arrested among the dozens of pro-Palestinian camps set up on campuses, largely in violation of school policies regarding camping on university property.
Columbia University students went so far as to briefly take over a campus building, and other schools experienced vandalism and disruptions during finals week. Violence erupted at UCLA when pro-Israel protesters stormed the camp of pro-Palestine activists.
The groups are concerned about the police force that was used at some protests, reportedly including tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper balls.
“Many current peaceful protesters, including students, teachers and other interested parties, are also exercising their constitutional rights, expressing their condemnation of the extreme and increasing violence in Gaza,” the letter to departments says.
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