UT Austin protest: Arrested protesters continue to be released from jail

AUSTIN, Texas - People have been camped outside the Travis County Jail all day Tuesday, waiting for protesters to be released. On Monday, April 29, nearly 80 people were arrested on the University of Texas at Austin campus.

A UT Austin representative said buckets of large rocks hidden in a breezeway, bricks, steel-enforced wood planks, mallets, guns, and chains have all been found on campus by protesters.

"This morning, University staff found a 5-gallon bucket filled with large chunks of concrete strategically hidden in a breezeway of Calhoun Hall leading to the South Lawn. An identical bucket was found in a similar location during last Wednesday's protest. Similar buckets of rocks have been used during past protests in Austin to assault responding officers," a UT Austin spokesperson said.

On Monday, a group of pro-Palestine protesters set up tents and a barricade on the South Lawn despite lawmakers banning camping in public areas in 2021.

"An encampment is a peaceful form of protest, so regardless of what the policy states or regardless of what the rules are, the fact that this is the response to that," UT student Ammer Qaddumi said.

The response was law enforcement after a dispersal order was ignored.

"Once again, UT demonstrated no restraint in calling in this militaristic police presence to brutally crack down on a student demonstration against the genocide in Gaza," Qaddumi said.

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Seventy-nine arrests were made on Monday.

"This large volume at one time puts a delay on normal, everyday processes," Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said.

Garza said cycling people in and out of jail for these low-level offenses is not sustainable. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office said they were busy, but not overwhelmed.

"While we understand the safety concerns of the university, continuing to send protesters to jail on criminal trespassing charges, one of the lowest level nonviolent crimes, is putting a tremendous strain on our criminal justice resources," Garza said.

Most of the protesters were charged with criminal trespass, one person was given an additional charge of obstruction, and another was charged with interfering with public duties. Garza said, unlike the last round of arrests, these charges will stick.

"The cases we have reviewed so far will remain active for now as we continue to review and investigate to determine what the post appropriate outcome is," Garza said.

"Most of these cases will be set within 30 days, but it could take months to resolve themselves," Capital Area Private Defender Service Executive Director Bradley Hargis said.

UT said of the almost 80 people arrested, 45 had no affiliation with the university. Their statement said, "This is calculated, intentional and, we believe, orchestrated, and led by those outside our university community."

The UT System Board of Regents Chairman said, "We will continue to call upon the DPS to secure our campus when needed. Moreover, we will make every effort to see that students who violate campus policies and outside individuals and groups that violate state law are fully prosecuted."

University leaders said students who have been arrested may not be allowed back on campus.

UT Austin released a statement about the arrests from Monday’s protest and confiscation of weapons to date:

"The University of Texas learned Tuesday that, of the 79 people arrested on our campus Monday, 45 had no affiliation with UT Austin. These numbers validate our concern that much of the disruption on campus over the past week has been orchestrated by people from outside the University, including groups with ties to escalating protests at other universities around the country. To date, from protesters, weapons have been confiscated in the form of guns, buckets of large rocks, bricks, steel enforced wood planks, mallets, and chains. Staff have been physically assaulted and threatened, and police have been headbutted and hit with horse excrement, while their police cars have had tires slashed with knives. This is calculated, intentional and, we believe, orchestrated, and led by those outside our university community. We will continue to safeguard the free speech and assembly rights of everyone on our campus, while we protect our University and students, who are preparing for their final exams."