Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Friday criticized the United Auto Workers (UAW) union’s call for the release of college students and employees arrested as part of pro-Palestine protests on campuses across the country.
“They are demanding the release of their criminals who broke the law and threatened student safety,” Cassidy said in a post on the social platform X. “This is promoting an extremist rot that is taking over our colleges.”
UAW President Shawn Fain criticized the mass arrest of college protesters earlier this week, emphasizing the union’s support for a long-term ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
“The UAW will never support the mass arrest or intimidation of those who exercise their right to protest, strike or speak out against injustice,” Fain said Wednesday. “Our union has been calling for a ceasefire for six months.”
“This war is wrong, and this response against students and academic workers, many of them members of the UAW, is wrong,” he continued. “We call on the powers that be to release the students and staff who have been arrested and, if they cannot stand the outcry, to stop supporting this war.”
Following Columbia University’s lead, demonstrators on other campuses have formed camps in recent weeks to protest Israel’s war campaign in Gaza and to urge their universities to divest from Israeli companies or defense companies that supply weapons to Israel.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested in campus protests across the country since April 18, according to the Associated Press.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
