Dozens of anti-Israel protesters arrested at Texas university

Dozens of protesters were arrested by Texas state troopers at the University of Texas, Austin on Monday, after students moved to occupy a quad near a tower that houses campus administration. 

Anti-Israel protests at the liberal college have been going on since Wednesday, when dozens of demonstrators were arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing. The charges were later dropped due to insufficient evidence. 

The arrests on Monday come after school officials and Gov. Greg Abbott warned protesters that arrests would occur if they did not vacate the premises. Campus police also issued a dispersal order on Monday, warning students that they were violating multiple sections of Texas' Penal Code.

"After protesters ignored repeated directives from both the administration and law enforcement officers to comply with Institutional Rules and remove tents assembled on the University's South Lawn, then physically engaged with and verbally assaulted Dean of Students staff who attempted to confiscate them, UT and partner law enforcement agencies dismantled an encampment and arrested several protesters," the school said in a statement per Newsweek. "The university will continue to support the free speech and assembly rights of our community while also enforcing its Institutional Rules."

Hundreds of faculty members have rejected UTA President Jay Hartzell's strict approach to the protests, claiming he has “needlessly put students, staff and faculty in danger. Dozens of students were arrested for assembling peacefully on their own campus." The faculty has even threatened to hold a vote of "no confidence" in Hartzell's leadership, according to the Hill.

But Hartzell's tough approach comes as conservatives criticize university officials at schools like Columbia University for intervening in their schools' protests.

"Anyone engaging this should be expelled. That's just the bottom line," New York GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney told Just the News Now on Monday. "Right now, I mean, we've got to just start taking action, this is not going to stop until we take decisive action. Expel these students, deport the students who are foreign students who are acting in this way and get rid of the professors." 

Columbia University did crack down on its protests Monday, resulting in the suspension of hundreds of students. Those suspended were not allowed to graduate this year if they were eligible, or have the current semester count towards graduation.