AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Protests continued for a second day on the University of Texas campus Thursday, less than 24 hours after a pro-Palestinian protest turned chaotic with a large law enforcement presence on Wednesday.
A total of 57 people were booked into the Travis County Jail in connection with Wednesday's events, according to the Travis County Sheriff's Office, with all of those arrests being made by UT Police. Many, if not all, of those were arrested on criminal trespass charges, which is a class B misdemeanor.
According to a statement from Travis County Attorney Delia Garza Thursday morning, her office had reviewed 46 of the cases and agreed to drop the charges in consultation with defense attorneys and the court, due to issues with probable cause for the arrests.
Garza said her office would continue to review new cases to determine whether their prosecution "is factually and legally appropriate."
UT officials, in a statement released Thursday afternoon, said protest organizers "sought to follow the playbook of the national campaign to paralyze the operations of universities" across the country.
"Roughly half (26) of the 55 people who violated Institutional Rules and were ultimately arrested were unaffiliated with The University of Texas," the statement read. "Thirteen pro-Palestinian free speech events have taken place at the University largely without incident since October. In contrast, this one in particular expressed an intent to disrupt the campus and directed participants to break Institutional Rules and occupy the University, consistent with national patterns.”
Members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the original organizer behind Wednesday's event, called for students and professors both to "Stand with the Arrested, Stand with Gaza" and head to the Main Mall of the campus at 12:15 p.m. Thursday.
A scheduled rally, targeted at the state's ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at public universities, and in support of university staffers who were fired earlier this month, was set for the same time and location. Organizers of that rally postponed their event until Monday, officials said.
Members of the UT Faculty Council's executive committee issued a statement Thursday morning, condemning UT President Jay Hartzell's decision "to invite DPS officers, armed and in riot gear, onto the Forty Acres to disrupt a non-violent protest."
Hundreds of DPS troopers, University of Texas Police, and Austin Police officers were at the scene Wednesday afternoon, as officials ordered protesters to disperse. DPS officials said they came at the request of UT officials and the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
A separate statement Wednesday afternoon from "concerned UT Austin faculty" members, released by the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors, called for "no business as usual" Thursday. "No classes. No grading. No work. No assignments. Gather at the main mall in front of UT Tower at 12:15 p.m. as planned with TSEU," the statement reads.
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