UCLA student on campus becoming ‘war zone’: ‘This is a disgrace’
UCLA law student Matthew Weinberg on the violent protests at the school as police try to break up the encampments and reacts to faculty that are involved with the protests
A UCLA student blamed university administration and faculty for campus chaos as law enforcement officials broke up an anti-Israel encampment on campus Thursday and made arrests in connection with the violent demonstrations.
Law student Matthew Weinberg, chair of the university's chapter of the Young America's Foundation, called the scene a "war zone" during "Fox & Friends" as the hours-long standoff ended between anti-Israel agitators and law enforcement officials from various agencies.
"This is a disgrace. To me, this looks like a war zone," Weinberg said. "It demonstrates to me that the school is run by a bunch of cowards… It demonstrates to me the lack of moral clarity, and it also demonstrates to me the degradation of our society."
"We invited Robert Spencer from Jihad Watch to come and speak, and the school has been stonewalling the event and delaying it, saying, well, we don't, we're not sure we're going have enough security, we can't approve the event potentially. And what that means fundamentally is that they're prioritizing terrorist sympathizers, agitators, many of them who are not even students who are violating school policies or harassing fellow Jewish students and breaking the law over people who want to engage in the free exchange new ideas," he continued.
Police removed barricades and detained protesters at the anti-Israel encampment on the Los Angeles, Calif. campus Thursday morning amid a nationwide movement urging institutions to divest from Israel.
Officers appeared to be met with heavy resistance as they approached the camp as protesters were seen shining bright flashlights into the eyes of officers. Several people were seen being detained by police and hauled away with their hands zip-tied behind their backs.
Weinberg said a friend got access to a Telegram Messenger chat group organized by the UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment and discovered the protesters had plans in place on how to handle law enforcement beforehand. It included a plan for detainment and how to create a barrier against police.
"This is definitely a coordinated effort. There was a screenshot that was sent to me, and basically they had a whole bunch of laid out plans on how to deal with the police and how to resist the police, to stand up to the police," Weinberg said. "They are not willing to concede… We know for sure that Students for Justice in Palestine is behind this. We know that for sure."
"There are a bunch of people behind this," he continued. "We've seen students providing food from Costco to these students… They're not even all students, they're agitators and students."
The Cultural Affairs Commission at UCLA, the College for Academic Counseling and political science professor Michael Chwe are aiding the protesters' efforts, Weinberg argued.
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"They are encouraging students to engage in violence," he said. "I know some students on the undergraduate level whose professors said, 'Don't worry about class. Just go to the protests and stand against Israel.'"
"By the way, this is not about free speech, this is about encouraging violence," he continued.
Weinberg said students should be given a tuition reimbursement since they have been forced to endure the ongoing chaos. He said he has many friends who have been assaulted in connection with the antisemitic protests.
"There's no doubt in my mind that they are owed a tuition reimbursement," Weinberg said. "I have a friend at my law school. She was pepper sprayed. There are a number of other students that were physically assaulted. The school's done absolutely nothing. At the very least, they deserve a tuition reimbursement."
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
