Police in riot gear dismantled the anti-Israel protest encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles campus early Thursday, deploying smoke bombs and shooting rubber balls as they faced off with violent protesters wielding fire extinguishers and pepper spray.
The California Highway Patrol moved in around 3 a.m. local time, detaining at least 132 pro-terrorism protesters on the campus after they ignored orders to disperse at 6 p.m. Wednesday, NBC Los Angeles and Fox 11 reported.
The officers deployed smoke bombs and fired what appeared to be rubber bullets as flashbangs echoed across the Los Angeles campus, CNN reported.
Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest on anti-Israel protests on campuses across the US
The flares also went up every few seconds, sending sparks into the air just above the protesters as they clashed with police between barricades, according to video shared on X by photojournalist Shay Horse.
Shay Horse also alleged that an officer shot at least one protester in the face with a rubber bullet.
The supposed victim later replied on X with a selfie of their swollen face wrapped in blood-soaked gauze.
“That was me…free palestine,” the protester – whose real name has not been found – captioned the photo.
“leaving the hospital now with 11 staples and 4 stitches in my dome,” they added alongside another photo of their blood-splattered keffiyeh.
By 4 a.m., the eastern part of the encampment was mostly dismantled, FOX11 said.
The detained protesters were seen on their knees with their hands zip tied behind their backs, and were eventually loaded onto buses that pulled up to campus, CNN said.
Shortly after the first round of arrests, some remaining protesters were spotted using debris to recreate the wall of cardboard and other materials that initially partly blocked police from the encampment, a video from journalist Anthony Cabassa showed.
“About half of the encampment is now under CHP control,” Cabassa wrote.
Police previously warned the demonstrators that they risked “serious injury” if they refused to evacuate, FOX News Digital reported.
Some defiant participants allegedly aimed pepper or bear spray at the officers, NewsNation’s Nancy Loo wrote on X.
Others wielded fire extinguishers, news station KTLA reported.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the pro-terror protests at colleges across the US:
- Tear gas sprayed at UCLA encampment as cops face off with anti-Israel protesters wielding fire extinguishers
- Stanford submits ‘deeply disturbing’ photo of campus anti-Israel protester wearing Hamas headband to FBI
- Iranian college offers free tuition to US students expelled for participating in anti-Israel protests: ‘Our people’
- MAP: US colleges where students have been arrested over anti-Israel protests
Police aimed weapons and appeared to drag protesters resisting orders to leave in another video shared by Cabassa.
A Palestinian flag was spotted waving above the fray as the authorities struggled to subdue protesters.
UCLA student Matthew Weinberg said the school now reminded him of a “war zone.”
“It demonstrates to me a lack of moral clarity, and it also demonstrates to me the degradation of our society,” Weinberg told FOX News Digital of the devolving situation.
He also slammed the administration for allowing the protest to continue while Jewish members of the community continued to feel unsafe.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that they are owed a tuition reimbursement. I have a friend at law school, she was pepper sprayed. There are a number of other students that were physically assaulted. The school has done absolutely nothing,” he insisted.
UCLA made headlines Tuesday night when counterprotesters punched demonstrators and threw fireworks into the encampment while private security guards simply looked on, FOX11 noted.
Fifteen people were injured in the incident, including at least one who was hospitalized, UC President Michael V. Drake later said in a statement.
