UCLA sued over 2024 mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The University of California, Los Angeles, was sued on Thursday over a 2024 mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters at the height of the U.S. campus protest movement against Israel's war in Gaza, a court filing showed.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

In one of the most violent incidents from U.S. protests related to the Israel-Gaza war, masked assailants, described by officials as "instigators," stormed the tent camp of pro-Palestinian protesters with clubs and poles. The encampment occupants said fireworks were also hurled at them.

The situation continued for at least three hours into the early morning of May 1 before police moved in and restored order. The following night, hundreds of police officers raided the encampment, arresting over 200 people.

KEY QUOTES

"Not a single member of the mob attack was arrested that night, even though police and private security watched from just a few yards away as the attack raged for hours and was broadcast live to millions of people," the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles superior court, said.

The office of the University of California's president said the suit was being reviewed and the university rejects violence and "all forms of hate, harassment and discrimination."

CONTEXT

The disturbances thrust UCLA to the center of weeks of tensions at U.S. college campuses, which saw protests against Israel's ongoing military assault that has killed over 49,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza's health ministry, and led to genocide and war crimes accusations that Israel denies.

Israel's assault followed an October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants in which 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken as hostages, Israeli tallies show.

The UCLA police chief who was criticized for the handling of the attack left the campus police department last year.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)