Dozens of people were arrested Monday at a protest on the campus of University of Texas at Austin, according to the university’s Defend Palestine Encampment, who also alleged that officers used force to take people into custody.
The encampment was formed on the school’s South Mall Lawn around 12:30 p.m. CT, and around an hour later, officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Austin Police Department and campus police responded wearing riot gear, a news release from organizers said.
“Around 40 people were arrested, with reports of police using flash bangs, mace, and other chemical munitions during the arrests,” the news release said.
The university is working on compiling information, including the number of people arrested, for a news release later Monday, said Brian Davis, senior manager for issues and crisis communications at the university.
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office will not have a total number of arrests until Tuesday morning, spokesperson Kristen Dark told CNN.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Public Safety for comment.
“We demand that UT divest from the Zionist state of Israel and from all institutions and companies that are enabling the current genocide in Gaza … We demand the resignation of President (Jay) Hartzell for green-lighting the militarized repression of peaceful student protesters on their own campus,” Lenna Nasr, of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in the news release.
CNN’s Joe Sutton and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.
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