For Immediate Release
Date: 5/16/2024
Statement from Chairman Don Wagner on Pro-Palestinian Campus Occupation and Arrests Made by Law Enforcement
(Santa Ana, CA) – Yesterday, after weeks of tolerating a Pro-Palestinian encampment on the UCI campus, protesters began to occupy a building on campus, which prompted UCPD to declare an unlawful assembly and issue a mutual aid request. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department responded to that request and, with UC law enforcement acting as the lead agency, put a stop to the occupation.
I want to thank UCPD, Irvine PD, Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies, and other law enforcement officers for showing restraint by giving protesters hours to peacefully remove themselves from the premises, regularly warning them through a loudspeaker system, gradually moving in, and removing tents, canopies, trash, and barriers from the encampment, all without the violence we have seen recently on other campuses.
Roughly 50 protesters were arrested, some for failing to disperse after a direct police order, while others, the ones who barricaded themselves in the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall, were arrested for trespassing. Upon being booked, all 50 were cited to appear and released. Those arrested were not only students but faculty members and outside protesters unaffiliated with UCI.
I applaud our law enforcement officers for their patience, restraint, and professionalism in dealing with these intransigent protesters who were in clear violation of the law. I also commend UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman for making the difficult decision to call a mutual aid request after exhausting all other options to bring order to the campus.
I am relieved to hear that the situation did not escalate and that no injuries were reported. I pray that after this incident, our community can return to normalcy and allow UCI to get back to its core mission of education.
To learn more about the Third District office, please visit donwagnerca.com and follow him on social media @donwagnerca for the latest updates.
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