UCLA activists, including students and faculty, announced Thursday that they are suing the school, alleging administrators failed to protect protesters at a campus pro-Palestinian encampment last school year.
Plaintiffs in the civil rights suit allege they experienced serious physical and verbal attacks, including sexual assault and being beaten, by both police and counterprotesters who attacked their encampment in April 2024, attorneys said.
The civil rights suit against counterprotesters, several police agencies and the university was announced Thursday at a news conference by the UCLA Luskin Conference Center, held by the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA). The UC Board of Regents were meeting at the center this week.
After the Israel-Hamas conflict unfolded in late 2023, pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA set up a “Palestine Solidarity Encampment” near Royce Quad and held numerous protests in April 2024, echoing many college campuses across the country. Tensions were high as the activists, demanding their school divest and sever ties with Israeli entities, clashed with counterprotesters. Late on April 30, violence broke out as counterprotesters stormed the encampment, resulting in multiple injuries. Later, police in riot gear moved in to clear the encampment, resulting in over 200 arrests.
The violence prompted an investigation, and in part led to the replacement of UCLA’s police chief and increased safety measures at all UC schools.
Several plaintiffs claimed they had severe, lasting injuries; some from being hit with rubber bullets; others pepper-sprayed in the attack.
Thistle Boosinger, a drummer, said that a counterprotester shattered her hand, leading to chronic pain and the loss of income.
“I am drowning in debt that piles up faster than I can pay it off, and I still cannot play drums, write, type, ride a bike, play sports, or even lay my hand flat on a table, or make a fist without terrible pain,” Boosinger…
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