Chaos at UCLA as anti-Israel activists attempt to establish new Gaza encampment

On Thursday, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) once became the epicenter of unrest on college campuses as Gaza activists attempted to set up a new encampment commemorating what they call “Nakba Day”—the day marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, which Palestinian activists refer to as a “catastrophe." Arab nations attacked, were rebuffed, and failed to destroy the fledgling Jewish state made up of farmers and Holocaust survivors.

Journalist Cam Higby, known for his undercover work with Today is America, was on the ground reporting from the scene and told The Ari Hoffman on Talk Radio 570 KVI that the activists staged an elaborate and disjointed protest, attempting to “rebuild Jaffa” using cardboard tents and even planting an orange tree in astroturf in the middle of UCLA’s Dixon Quad. The demonstrators initially gathered in a building on campus, but were removed by police. They then moved to the quad area, and when removed again, regrouped in a third location where tensions escalated.

Higby reported that protestors engaged in symbolic hunger strikes and were vocal in their opposition to the state of Israel’s founding. “They were mad about Nakba Day,” said Higby, “and tried to resurrect what looked like a Gazan encampment.”

As Higby documented the protest, tensions flared. “I was assaulted,” he said, “and had a faculty member try to steal my phone after I took her picture.” According to Higby, the faculty member was assistant professor Nour Joudah in the school’s Department of Asian Studies.

This confrontation was not an isolated incident. Higby described efforts by university officials to remove him, as well as Israel and Trump supporters from areas of campus while allowing pro-Hamas radicals to remain, despite violations of the same rules, such as bans on amplified sound. “They told a woman counter-protesting with a megaphone that it wasn’t a ‘free speech zone,’ yet just feet away, 200 people were blasting speeches and chants,” he said.

Higby also followed a group of protestors to what he discovered to be their staging area—a room used by the Muslim Student Association. When he waited outside, the doors were closed and locked, contrary to the organization’s posted policy. Faculty members then attempted to distract and mislead him by staging a false exit while protesters changed clothes to blend in as “normal people” before leaving the area.

“They told each other to ‘change out of black’ and leave,” Higby said, referencing the black bloc-style clothing many demonstrators wore.

Perhaps most disturbingly, Higby recounted an interaction with campus security personnel who allegedly impersonated police officers. “They told me to leave and said it was a lawful order,” Higby recalled. “I asked if they were law enforcement. They nodded yes, but later I realized they were just building security—essentially rent-a-cops hired by the university.”

Higby said he intended to file a police report about the earlier assault, but campus security tried to dissuade him, telling him to speak to the police, despite just claiming to be law enforcement themselves. “It was a clear case of impersonating a police officer to get me to leave,” he said.

Higby, who has also covered protests at the University of Washington, noted that the situation in Seattle has escalated more severely in recent months. “Last year, I would have told you UCLA was worse,” he said. “But after recent events—like the arson at UW, where protestors blocked the fire department from putting out the blaze—Washington has taken the lead in terms of violent escalation.”

Last week, Antifa and pro-Gaza radicals caused over $1 million in damages to a brand-new engineering building at UW during a violent, antisemitic occupation, highlighting the growing stakes and destructive tactics used in campus demonstrations nationwide.

Despite the frequent escalation of violence and property destruction during these protests, very few individuals have been charged. According to The Los Angeles Times, only a handful of activists from last year’s UCLA encampments have faced legal consequences, a fact that continues to fuel debate around selective enforcement and institutional bias. Following the violent protest, UCLA's Vice President posted on his Instagram story a call to action at the police station to attempt to "mobilize" to free two radicals who were arrested on campus amid multiple assaults and conduct violations.

Higby expressed concern that this lack of accountability emboldens more aggressive and disruptive behavior. “They’re getting away with it,” he said. “They assault people, block emergency services, impersonate law enforcement—and almost no one gets charged.”