AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers responded to another rally on the University of Texas at Austin's campus Monday.
The Texas State Employees Union (TSEU) was already hosting a separate rally in response to recent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) layoffs at UT when protesters from the separate rally on the South Mall Lawn started yelling to get people to come to their encampment protest.
Around 1 p.m., most of the people from the first rally had gone over to watch the anti-war protesters rallying in support of Palestinians. The anti-war protesters made a circle of people surrounding tents. Moments later, the University of Texas Police Department (UTPD) posted on social media that a dispersal order had been issued and that everyone should leave the South Mall area immediately.
KVUE crews on the scene reported a notable presence of DPS troopers on campus. By around 1:30 p.m., the troopers had begun trying to clear people out of the area. Austin Police Department officers were also on the scene.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that encampments would not be allowed and arrests would be made instead.
At 4:45 p.m., DPS told KVUE that over the past few days, its troopers have remained on standby to assist UTPD with "maintaining the peace" on campus. On Monday, DPS said personnel "provided support with the on-campus protest as request" but made no arrests.
At the same time, after law enforcement officers had either arrested or cleared out all of the original protesters on the South Mall Lawn, the group followed officers to the corner of 22 and Guadalupe to block police from leaving with the arrested protesters. Police deployed pepper spray and a flashbang on the crowd.
The crowd then pushed officers all the way through and off campus, yelling "We don't want you here," among other negative chants towards law enforcement.
Last week, dozens of people were arrested at an anti-war protest on UT's campus. All of those protesters were later released from jail, and all charges were dropped. Since last week's protest, many people, including university faculty, have been calling for the removal of UT President Jay Hartzell for sending in state troopers.
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt spoke with Hartzell after last week's protest, asking why state troopers were sent in to stop the rally. Eckhardt was on campus for Monday's protest, saying that as a representative for the campus, she wants to make sure these rallies get solved in a safe way from both sides.
“I would call on all of my fellow alumni to live the motto, ‘What happens here changes the world.' Let’s make sure it’s something good," Eckhardt said.
The university released a statement Monday afternoon about the protest, saying it received extensive online threats from a group organizing the day's protest. The threats appear to have come from a separate group from the Palestine Solidarity Committee that organized last week's protest. UT has placed that group on interim suspension.
In its statement, UT also reiterated that, like at last week's protest, a majority of Monday's protesters aren't believed to have any affiliation with the university. But in 2019, state lawmakers passed a bill that designates part of UT as a public forum, meaning that members of the public are free to rally and protest there.
Below is the university's full statement:
“After protesters ignored repeated directives from both the administration and law enforcement officers to comply with Institutional Rules and remove tents assembled on the University’s South Lawn, then physically engaged with and verbally assaulted Dean of Students staff who attempted to confiscate them, UT and partner law enforcement agencies dismantled an encampment and arrested several protesters. Baseball size rocks were found strategically placed within the encampment. The majority of protesters are believed to be unaffiliated with the university.
On Saturday the University received extensive online threats from a group organizing today’s protest. These threats have been reported to local, state and federal law-enforcement. Since October and prior to April 24, no fewer than 13 pro-Palestinian free speech events were held on the UT campus, and four since then, largely without incident. The university will continue to support the free speech and assembly rights of our community while also enforcing its Institutional Rules.”
UT said it doesn't currently have any plans to alter or cancel its commencement ceremony on May 11.
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