Texas Governor Greg Abbott is facing backlash for deploying up to 100 state troopers, some on horseback, to quell a pro-Palestine protest at the University of Texas at Austin. Students at the university were calling for divestment from companies supplying weapons to Israel, a movement that is gaining traction on campuses across the nation. The heavy-handed response on Wednesday led to dozens of arrests, with Governor Abbott declaring on social media, "These protesters belong in jail."
Caught in the chaos was a photographer from FOX 7 Austin who, according to video evidence, was abruptly pulled to the ground by an officer. FOX 7 Austin confirmed their photographer's arrest. Amidst the clashes, another journalist was seen bleeding before being assisted by police to medical staff, as Yahoo News Australia reported. Democratic leaders in Texas sharply criticized Abbott's actions, drawing parallels between this incident and the Governor's response to previous crises, including the tragic Uvalde school shooting.
However, the Travis County Attorney’s Office announced that lack of probable cause meant the individuals arrested at the protest would not face charges at this time. Many identified in the protest, nearly half according to administrators, had no affiliation with the University of Texas. UT Austin released a statement highlighting the involvement of external groups as part of a "national campaign to paralyze the operations of universities across the country," consistent with disturbances seen on other campuses.
This unrest at UT Austin comes as other institutions confront disturbances, such as Georgia's Emory University, where police officers fired pepper balls and employed Tasers on a restrained student. Describing a viral video of the event, Cheryl Elliott, Emory University’s vice president for public safety, indicated the individual they stunned did not seem to be part of the Emory community, and cited the necessity of using chemical irritants for crowd control, according to the Australian outlet's report.
Meanwhile, at the University of Texas, President Jay Hartzell is under fire, with faculty members calling his use of the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to end the pro-Palestinian demonstration into question. A letter from the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which circulated post-protest, claimed that "the president has shown himself to be unresponsive to urgent faculty, staff, and student concerns. He has violated our trust," as FOX San Antonio reported. There is a growing sentiment among faculty for Hartzell's resignation, partly due to prior tensions related to the firing of staff from the university's diversity, equity, and inclusion program.
Even as controversy swirls, some support Hartzell's and Abbott's assertive stance, with one UT student thanking them for their response to campus violence. As the situation at UT unravels, the University of Southern California has altered its commencement plans following protests, showcasing the broad impact student-led activism is having on university policies and operations nationwide.
