-
Heritage Foundation Spreads Deceptive Videos About Noncitizen Voters - 7 mins ago
-
Fanatics Sportsbook Promo: Bet NFL Week 1, Get $1K Bonus Match Offer - 21 mins ago
-
Trump Lays Out Vision for Bending the Federal Government to His Will - 51 mins ago
-
With Bulls’ Lonzo Ball Hoping For 2024-25 Comeback, Nikola Vucevic Weighs In - 56 mins ago
-
FanDuel Promo Code: New NFL Bettors Get $200 Bonus, Sunday Ticket Deal - 2 hours ago
-
Mother of Georgia Suspect Called School Minutes Before Shooting, Family Says - 2 hours ago
-
Active Shooter on I-75 in Kentucky, Numerous Victims Reported - 2 hours ago
-
At the U.S. Open, Hourly-Wage Ushers Corral the Well-Heeled Crowds - 2 hours ago
-
Bet365 Bonus Code WEEK365: Choose $200 Bonus or $1K Safety Net for NFL - 3 hours ago
-
Mr. Greedy, an African Penguin With 230 Descendants, Dies at 33 - 3 hours ago
Pomona College moved graduation to Shrine, and protesters followed
When pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment last week on the stage at Pomona College where graduation was set to be held, the school’s leaders decided to move Sunday’s commencement to Los Angeles.
The graduation took place at the Shrine Auditorium, kicking off at 6 p.m. But protesters also moved. A group of more than 100 congregated outside the auditorium Sunday afternoon and clashed with law enforcement. Police said protesters charged them, and one demonstrator said officers struck people in the stomach with batons.
The college had said there would be additional security measures at the event, and dozens of Los Angeles Police Department officers were present. Officers lined up outside the venue as protesters held up banners and shouted through bullhorns.
Several Pomona College graduates, dressed in full regalia, led the crowd in chanting, “Free Palestine.”
At times, the demonstrators pushed and shoved with police as officers attempted to secure the area around the auditorium. Officials told KABC-7 that some protesters charged at officers and one was arrested after attempting to strike an officer.
Later, about 6:30 p.m., the protesters marched away from the Shrine Auditorium and gathered in a courtyard where a Pomona College graduate, wearing his cap and gown, read a statement calling for an end to the war and for universities to divest from financial ties with Israel.
Tharwa Khalid, a member of a local chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said the protesters started on West 32nd Street and split into two groups, one on 32nd Street and another near Jefferson Boulevard.
The dynamic with police escalated from “zero to 100 with no warning,” she said.
Officers shoved Khalid and several others, pushing some people to the ground and striking them with batons, including hitting multiple female protesters in the stomach, Khalid said.
“A lot of my friends are bruised up right now and are not doing well physically,” Khalid said.
As officers pushed one Muslim protester to the ground, they pulled off her headscarf, Khalid said.
Khalid said she saw a legal observer with the National Lawyers Guild — wearing a neon green hat to be easily seen observing police activity — shoved to the ground by an officer.
“It just shows that they’re trying to intimidate students and punish them for exercising their 1st Amendment rights,” Khalid said.
![People on a city street hold a sign that includes "End the siege on Gaza now."](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7d0e9cb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6995x4666+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F28%2F8b%2Fbb51224d4456802a0014deb1d60e%2F1447826-la-police-clash-protestors-pomona-college-jja-0010.jpg)
Among protesters Sunday outside the Shrine Auditorium were those in their Pomona College caps and gowns from graduation.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
By nearly 7 p.m., most of the pro-Palestinian protesters had dispersed from the campus courtyard, and police had cordoned off an area surrounding the Shrine Auditorium.
A few family members of graduates arrived late to the ceremony with flowers in hand but were briefly turned away from the police-tape line. An officer stepped in, however, and allowed them through so they could attend the graduation.
LAPD Officer Tony Im, a public information officer, said he could not provide a statement or response Sunday evening regarding what protesters alleged happened because he had not been briefed.
Pomona College’s decision to move its commencement came after a decision by USC to cancel its traditional main campus commencement ceremony and hold an alternative celebration at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The event Thursday featured fireworks and a drone show.
As at USC, pro-Palestinian protests have roiled the Pomona campus, with student activists demanding that the college publicly call for a cease-fire and divest college endowment funds from corporations tied to Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the occupation of the West Bank. In April, police wearing riot gear arrested 19 protesters who had occupied the college president’s office.
Times staff writer Jenny Gold contributed to this report.
Source link