UT says guns and other weapons were taken from pro-Palestinian protesters

As a result of the pro-Palestinian demonstration on Monday at the University of Texas, the Travis County sheriff’s office reports that seventy-nine people were taken into custody.

Public information officer Kristen Dark of the sheriff’s office stated that 78 of the people who were taken into custody were charged with criminal trespass, and one of them was also charged with obstructing a highway or passageway. Dark stated that one individual was additionally accused of obstructing public duties.

This week, there were other arresting agencies besides the University of Texas Police Department. According to Dark, four protesters have the Austin Police Department listed as their arresting agency.

Criminal trespassing charges were brought against all 57 of the individuals who were detained during the protest on Wednesday, but those charges were later dropped.

Tuesday afternoon’s pro-Palestinian “teach-in” at the campus’ South Mall drew dozens of participants, but the atmosphere was far more subdued than the day before.

On Wednesday, there will be another demonstration.

According to UT, protesters’ guns and other weapons were taken away on Monday.

Guns were taken “from protesters” on Monday, according to a statement released by UT spokesperson Brian Davis on Tuesday night.

According to the statement, “weapons from protesters have been confiscated to date, including guns, buckets of large rocks, bricks, steel enforced wood planks, mallets, and chains.”. “Police have been hit with horse dung and headbutted, and the tires of their patrol cars have had knives slashed through them. Staff have also been physically abused and threatened.”. ****.

Social media posts featured footage of police brutality toward demonstrators, including dragging them. One particular video featured an officer striking someone repeatedly.

Reiterating that the majority of those detained on Monday were not affiliated with UT, the statement validated the university’s concerns regarding the influence of private organizations.

The statement claimed that “this is deliberate, planned, and, we believe, orchestrated and led by those outside our university community.”.

The declaration is made ahead of a demonstration on the lawn scheduled for Wednesday at noon by several organizations. Even though the demonstrators have insisted and chanted that their goals are peaceful, the news of the weapons comes after the university said on Monday that “baseball-sized rocks” were discovered at the protest and that they were apparently placed “strategically.”.

When questioned about the number of weapons discovered, when they were discovered, and other details, the university declined to provide further information.

— Kepner Lily.

The Travis County Jail gradually released its protestors late on Tuesday afternoon.

When the Travis County Jail opened its doors in the late afternoon, those who had been arrested on Monday during the protest started to flow out.

Sam Law, a doctoral candidate at UT, was relieved to be freed at approximately 5:30 p.m. me. he stated.

According to Law, “the University of Texas seemed to drag their feet bureaucratically as long as possible to make this as painful a process as possible.”.

He claimed that most of the time, when people were detained in larger cells, there was singing and generally good spirits. The protesters who had been arrested were then placed in different cells, he claimed.

Zach Johnson, a student at Austin Community College, said he was concerned for some other individuals who claimed to have diabetes or asthma but otherwise felt alright after being released Tuesday night. He stated that those individuals were not provided with the necessary medical care.

Due to a speaker scheduled for that day’s event, Johnson visited the UT campus on Monday. However, he joined the protest after noticing that people were setting up tents.

Pro-Palestinian students were waiting in the plaza in front of the jail, reading, talking, and playing music as demonstrators emerged from the jail one by one. A few of them placed pizza orders. One, two, three, four, open up the jail door was the chant they would occasionally gather to chant. “.

Citlali Soto-Ferate, a student, came to support her fellow demonstrators, particularly since she had been detained on April 24 at UT. Her mood improved when she heard demonstrators chanting outside while she waited to be freed.

“I have to give back,” declared Soto-Ferate.

— Katherine Heath.

The chair of the UT System board of regents declares that attempts to interfere with academic operations “will not be tolerated.”.

Chairman of the UT System board of regents, Kevin P., issued a statement on Tuesday. Eltife criticized the participation of “outside groups” and claimed that the recent protests have put students and the campus in danger. “.

An attempt to halt or interfere with UT operations will not be allowed, the statement said, as I have said before. “With the intention of hurting our campus community, large groups of students and external organizations with no affiliation to UT have purposefully caused disturbances.”. Actually, most of the agitators who have been arrested so far are not UT students. “.

The right to free speech, according to him, is “violated when it includes threats to campus safety and security or refusal to comply with institutional policies and law.”. “.

Working with UT President Jay Hartzell “on decisions to protect (UT’s) entire campus community,” according to Eltife, has been his focus. “.

He declared that when help is needed on campus, UT officials will keep contacting the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The statement added, “Furthermore, we will exert every effort to ensure that students who disobey campus rules and outside individuals and groups who break state law are fully prosecuted.”.

— Lily Kepner.

The Travis County attorney’s office has not discovered flaws in any fresh cases pertaining to protests, unlike last week.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza stated that the charges from Monday’s protest are being processed more slowly than they were last week because an initial review of new probable cause affidavits revealed no flaws in the documentation.

According to her, the office has found it difficult to keep up with the increasing number of cases.

According to Garza, “this big volume at one time has delayed our normal, everyday processes.”. Even with the current volume, it requires time on a typical day. “.

According to her, the Travis County Jail would typically process charges of low-level crimes quickly. For someone to be released from custody, those affidavits are necessary so that a magistrate judge can decide whether to pursue charges or set a bond.

In order to expedite the processing of individuals who were arrested on Monday through the jail, Garza stated on Tuesday that her office is collaborating closely with other nearby agencies. Lawyers claimed that the department essentially “copied and pasted” each affidavit. This week’s handling of the charges is different from last week’s handling by UT police.

According to her, Garza’s office dropped those accusations due to inadequacies.

Garza also criticized the university administration’s response and urged officials to discuss future steps with the protest organizers.

“Restricting our criminal justice resources for the rest of our community and revolving door cases will do very little to maintain public safety,” Garza stated.

— Heath Keri.

The FOX 7 Austin photojournalist’s felony charge was dropped.

Carlos Sanchez, a photojournalist for FOX 7 Austin, was arrested last Wednesday while covering a protest at UT; a felony charge against him was later dropped.

Criminal trespass was the initial charge brought against Sanchez. In the end, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza decided not to press all 57 criminal trespassing charges related to the demonstration on Wednesday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Justin Winkler filed an arrest warrant for Sanchez on April 26 due to a felony charge of assault on a peace officer.

Defense attorney Gerry Morris for Sanchez informed the American-Statesman that the DPS detective in the case withdrew the warrant after admitting it did not allege a felony crime; however, the officer was free to resubmit it at a later time.

– Serena Lin.

The hate speech and “aggressive response” to the protest last week are denounced by the UT Student Government.

Around one in the afternoon, representatives of the UT Student Government issued a statement. me. regarding the demonstration on Wednesday, denouncing hate speech that is antisemitic and Islamophobic but stating that the “aggressive response” to the demonstration is dangerous.

“It is an assault on our right to free speech when we use excessive force against other students and people connected to UT, causing direct and physical harm to our peers. ****.

The statement called on UT to “equally represent the wide range of ideologies that are invaluable to our community” and claimed that administrators had failed to establish a safe environment for all students. “.”.

— Lily Kepner.

UT hosts a pro-Palestinian discussion on Tuesday afternoon that draws dozens of attendees; an encampment is not anticipated.

On Tuesday, dozens of people turned out for a “teach-in” regarding Palestine at the University of Texas South Mall.

Third-year UT student and Palestine Solidarity Committee member Ammer Qaddumi stated that the teach-in was supposed to continue into the evening rather than become an encampment.

According to Qaddumi, the teach-in’s goal was to “recenter the focus” of the demonstrations.

Qaddumi stated, “It’s not provocation for provocation’s sake.”. “Our goal is not to protest just for the sake of protesting. To support DOT, we are holding protests. the residents of Palestine. ****.

According to UT spokesman Brian Davis, the university will keep an eye on the circumstances on Tuesday.

A few university police were spotted nearby wearing zip ties, and UT police erected barricades to block the stairs leading to the UT Tower.

Monday’s encampment and protests, which resulted in students being pepper-sprayed by police and 79 people being arrested, were very different from Tuesday’s teach-in.

After facilitating the teach-in for approximately an hour, two professors, Karma ChaŁvez and Pavithra Vasudevan, concluded it just before 2:30 p.m. me.

Fewer than a dozen counterprotesters, some of whom were flying the Israeli flag, congregated around the group. They occasionally posed hypothetical queries, like “Is Hamas a terrorist organization?”.

Freshman at UT and Longhorns for Israel member Zachary Smith said he has shown up to oppose antisemitism and counter each protest.

“The main purpose of our visit, according to Smith, is to demonstrate our support for Israel, as well as our pride and unwavering commitment to being Jews and standing up for our convictions.”.

Though there were occasional brief arguments between the two groups, overall tensions were low and the situation remained peaceful.

The professors left, and the students stayed to sit on the South Mall lawn.

– Seipp Skye.

Friends of those who were arrested are still being held at the jail as Tuesday afternoon approaches.

The demonstrators were seated in lawn chairs on the grassy incline in front of the Travis County Jail or cross-legged on the plaza by Tuesday afternoon.

A lot of students read books, had lunch, and talked.

Marc Tost, a student at UT, was waiting for his friend—who had been detained during Monday’s protest—to be released from custody under a tree.

Tost, who did not witness the demonstration, said of his friend, “He knew this was a likely outcome.”.

In the shade on Tuesday afternoon were Jules Lattimore and Jake Hoztman as well. Following the demonstration on Monday, they both returned home, but they returned to the jail early on Tuesday to await their friend’s release.

They said it had been difficult to find out when their friend might be released.

Lattimore expressed concerns about students who were arrested and subjected to harassment due to their religious attire. He also hoped that everyone was receiving the necessary medical attention or water.

Hotzman was pleased to see students voicing their opinions, though.

Hotzman expressed his personal inspiration and optimism at the amount of community support that has been shown.

— Haley Keri.

“Free Palestine”: ASD high school students organize a walkout in opposition to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

According to a university spokesperson, more than half of those detained on Monday weren’t UT students.

According to UT spokesperson Mike Rosen on Tuesday, of the 79 persons arrested during the protest on Monday, 34 were students, and the remaining individuals, or over half of the total, were not connected to the university.

— Kepner Lily.

People wait for the release of protesters who have been arrested from Travis County Jail.

As the demonstrators were being released from custody, over fifty individuals congregated at Travis County Jail on Tuesday morning.

Suffers huddled together on tarps, yoga mats, and benches with coffee, water bottles, pickles, doughnuts, and each other. While they waited for news about the people who had been arrested, they stretched and spoke.

During the protests last Wednesday, William Sorenson, a second-year student at UT, was taken into custody. He was waiting for his friend to be released on Tuesday morning. That was at 10:30 p.m. me. Mon.

“We intend to remain here until she departs,” Sorenson declared.

On Monday, Sorenson strolled to the demonstration following class. As he watched from the shade, he noticed his friend.

“Observing everything unfold once more was bizarre,” he remarked.

Sorenson expressed his “dismay” at the use of force on campus and expressed inspiration for the demonstrators, claiming that their goals were peaceful.

Regarding the police presence, he remarked, “It was chaotic; it may as well have been a riot—but it was not instigated by the protesters, and there is a clear trend of that.”.

10:45 a.m. me. Outside the jail, demonstrators were beating drums and shouting, “Free Palestine.”.

— Kepner Lily.

Contrary to last week’s “copied and pasted” affidavits, the ones for the protesters who were arrested this week are different.

On Monday night, attorneys were informed that the probable cause affidavits for the individuals detained would not be submitted until Tuesday. UT police conducted the process differently last week, according to attorneys, who claimed the department essentially “copied and pasted” each affidavit. Because of this, the Travis County attorney’s office—headed by Delia Garza and responsible for handling misdemeanor cases—rejected all of the charges.

For someone to be released from custody, those affidavits are necessary so that a magistrate judge can decide whether to pursue charges or set a bond.

starting at 8:15 a.m. me. According to Dark, none of the people detained had previously met with a magistrate judge. According to Austin Lawyers Guild attorney George Lobb, the first affidavits of probable cause were submitted at around 8:45 a.m. m.

The American-Statesman was provided with a probable cause affidavit pertaining to Monday’s protest, which reveals added information from the officers. In contrast to the affidavits from last week, which mostly stated that the arrested person was “given notice to disperse from property and failed to do so,” the details of the affidavit explain how the protesters failed to comply with the officers’ dispersal orders. “.

“Insufficient probable cause” existed, according to Garza’s statement to the Statesman last week, to press charges against the demonstrators who were taken into custody this Wednesday. Regarding the accusations brought against the individuals detained on Monday, Garza stated that her department will “offer an update dot.”. as soon as we have more information. “.”.

— Skye Seipp.