Greg Abbott Under Fire Over Police Response to Protesters

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott has come under fire after police arrested pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Texas at Austin.

Large crowds gathered at the UT campus on Wednesday to protest the war in Gaza and demand that the college divest from businesses that manufacture machinery used in Israel’s war efforts.

On October 7, 2023, a surprise attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas left 1,200 people dead, with several hundred more taken into Gaza as hostages. In response, Israel launched an air and ground campaign in Gaza which has killed 34,000 people to date, according to the Associated Press, citing local health officials.

Pro-Palestinian protests have been spreading across U.S. campuses in recent weeks.

Over 100 students at Columbia University in New York who were participating in the week-long protest have been arrested by riot police and suspended by the school. Protests have also taken place at New York University, Yale, the University of South Carolina, and Harvard.

In response to the protest at UT Austin, dozens of local and state police were seen arriving at the campus and blocking the march.

Abbott said on X, formerly Twitter, that anyone participating in the protest “belongs in jail.”

“Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses. These protesters belong in jail. Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period,” the governor said. “Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a post on X that 34 arrests related to the protests had been made as of 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

Videos shared on social media showed a heavy police presence at the UT campus, with clips showing officers forcibly arresting some protesters.

The police crackdown caused a mixture of anger and support across social media, with many taking aim at Abbott.

Newsweek reached out to the Texas DPS and Governor Greg Abbott for comment via email outside of normal working hours.

Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat member of the Texas State Senate, slammed Abbott and said that arrests “must stop.”

“In Greg Abbott’s Texas, our first amendment rights are under attack. DPS is beating and arresting students and journalists at the University of Texas. This must stop,” Gutierrez said in an X post alongside a video decrying the police response to the protests.

Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC, which describes itself as a “diverse group” of Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans, wrote on X alongside a video: “What happened today was just another step towards fascism. Beware of Paramilitaries. Greg Abbott is a danger to the US Constitution at this point.”

Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman, said: “Elected officials like [Greg Abbott] who, for purely political reasons, will trample all over the U.S. Constitution are far more dangerous than college presidents who, for purely political reasons, are afraid to enforce school policy and keep their campus safe.”

Despite fury from some, others praised Abbott for taking action.

Kurt Schlichter, a trial lawyer and retired U.S. Army infantry colonel, said, “Nice to see Greg Abbott making a powerful play for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination. Gotta tell you, I’m liking what I’m seeing!”

New York Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican, praised Abbott’s stance and said, “this is what leadership looks like.”

“Instead of letting the antisemitic pro-Hamas mob take over, Greg Abbott is taking action and sending a clear message,” she wrote.