A coalition of 35 pro-Palestinian students, faculty, legal observers, journalists, and activists has filed a lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), challenging the university’s management of protests related to the Israel-Hamas war. This legal action, initiated on Thursday in Los Angeles, follows a separate lawsuit filed in June by Jewish students and a professor, alleging UCLA failed to protect them from aggressive pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
The protests at UCLA were part of a broader movement that swept across campuses nationwide last spring. Recently, the Trump administration launched investigations into allegations of antisemitism at several universities, including Columbia and UC Berkeley, highlighting the growing scrutiny surrounding campus dynamics.
UCLA’s campus became a battleground of escalating tensions, culminating in a chaotic incident on April 20 when counterprotesters violently dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment. The lawsuit claims that the university neglected to protect demonstrators from a mob, some masked and armed with fireworks and blunt instruments, who launched an attack after private security had departed and before police intervention.
Witnesses reported horrific scenes, with injuries inflicted amid chaos as threatening sounds echoed from a jumbotron. The lawsuit details the trauma endured by encampment members, stating, “They saw people get their heads split open, suffer from open wounds and concussions, scream in pain and fear.”
In response to the May 1 and 2 protests, which led to numerous arrests, UCLA reassigned its police chief and established a new campus safety office. Any further attempts to set up pro-Palestinian camps were subsequently thwarted.
The lawsuit also implicates the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, and 20 individuals labeled as part of the “mob,” seeking damages for the physical and psychological harm suffered by the protesters.
In a separate but related case, three Jewish students and a Jewish professor have accused UCLA of allowing pro-Palestinian protesters to obstruct their access to classes. A federal judge previously issued a preliminary injunction, ruling that UCLA must ensure Jewish students can freely navigate campus without interference.
On Monday, the Trump administration expressed its support for the Jewish plaintiffs, signaling a strong stance against antisemitism in educational institutions. Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, underscored the implications of these actions, stating, “This is a wake-up call for every university that allows antisemitic hatred to fester unchecked. No Jewish student or professor should ever again face this kind of terror on their own campus.”
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