President Joe Biden spoke out for the first time following violence and arrests during demonstrations at several US universities, saying: “There is a right to protest, but not a right to cause chaos.”
Tensions in universities around the world America have been growing for days, as protesters refused to remove the camps and administrators called on authorities to disband them.
There were clashes between pro-Palestinian activists and counter-protesters, as well as between protesters and police.
Police make arrests at UCLA protest
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Mr. Biden said that the events at the universities “tested two fundamental American principles, the first is the right to freedom of expression and the peaceful assembly of people, the second is the rule of law.”
“Both must be maintained,” continued the president. “We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people and suppress dissent. But we are also not a lawless country. We are a civil society. And order must prevail.”
He added: “Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent should never lead to disorder or the denial of the rights of others, lest students finish their semester and college education.”
Biden has at times criticized Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, but the US has continued to supply it with weapons.
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Why are students protesting?
‘I was caught between students and police at UCLA’
The president said that the protests did not lead him to rethink policies regarding the Middle East.
His comments came after days of silence over the protests. During this time, Republicans tried to capitalize on scenes of unrest against Democrats.
Biden said he rejected efforts to use the situation to “score political points.” “This is not a time for politics,” he said. “It’s a moment of clarity.”
Police clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters on the UCLA campus Thursday morning. Photo: AP
Protesters were detained on the UCLA campus. Photo: AP
Hundreds of protesters arrested
Overnight, police arrested pro-Palestinian protesters on several campuses, including at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where police in riot gear fired rubber bullets at protesters and demolished a camp that had been set up for a week.
Between 200 and 300 people were arrested at UCLA on Wednesday night, two law enforcement sources told NBC News, Sky’s US partner.
Specific information about those arrested — such as whether they were students, employees or not affiliated with the university — could not be known for days.
Police detained a protester at Columbia University. Photo: Reuters
The cost of the two-night operation to secure the campus and remove the encampment is several million dollars, they added.
Other arrests were made at the University of Texas, Yale, Dartmouth and New York State universities at Buffalo and Stony Brook.
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Tent camps from protesters calling on universities to stop working with Israel, or from companies that say they support the war in Gaza, have spread across the US.
NYPD officers closed some city streets on Tuesday night. Photo: Reuters
Another prominent demonstration at Columbia University in New York was suppressed by police on Tuesday night, with around 300 arrests being made.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
