University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell released a statement Wednesday evening that unequivocally defended his decision to shut down an anti-Israel protest on campus, where more than 30 people were arrested.
“Our rules matter and they will be enforced,” he said in a lengthy statement that recognized that there was “a lot of emotion surrounding these events.”
“This has been a challenging day for many,” Hartzell wrote in a statement addressed to the UT-Austin community. “We have witnessed much activity we normally do not experience on our campus, and there is understandably a lot of emotion surrounding these events.”
“Today, our University held firm, enforcing our rules while protecting the Constitutional right to free speech. Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable. Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed. The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate Institutional Rules. Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied,” the president added.
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As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said law enforcement officers had arrested 34 people at the UT Austin campus related to the protest.
Charges for those arrested at colleges across the country — including more than 100 people at Columbia University in New York City and more than 90 people at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles — typically include trespassing or unlawful assembly.
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“The protesters tried to deliver on their stated intent to occupy campus,” President Hartzell continued. “People not affiliated with UT joined them, and many ignored University officials’ continual pleas for restraint and to immediately disperse. The University did as we said we would do in the face of prohibited actions. We were prepared, with the necessary support to maintain campus operations and ensure the safety, well-being and learning environment for our more than 50,000 students.”
The university president also applauded law enforcement and staff for allowing peaceful protests that “happen within the rules.”
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“We are grateful for the countless staff members and state and University law enforcement officers, as well as support personnel who exercised extraordinary restraint in the face of a difficult situation that is playing out at universities across the country,” he said. “There is a way to exercise freedom of speech and civil discourse, and our Office of the Dean of Students has continued to offer ways to ensure protests can happen within the rules. The University of Texas will continue to take necessary steps so that all our University functions proceed without interruption.”
UT Austin told Fox News Digital in a statement that it “does not tolerate” disruptive protests.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, denounced the protests as lawless and antisemitic.
“These protesters belong in jail,” Abbott wrote. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period. Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.”
Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.
