Rep. Mike Garcia, the only House GOP lawmaker in the Los Angeles metro area, expressed concern over the toll that college protests have taken on the city's strained police resources. He specifically cited the recent anti-Israel protests at the University of California, Irvine.
College Protests Strain Law Enforcement Resources, Says House Republican
Los Angeles, CA - Rep. Mike Garcia, the lone House GOP lawmaker in the Los Angeles metro area, has raised concerns over the impact of college protests on the city's already strained police resources. His comments come in the wake of recent anti-Israel demonstrations at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).
On Wednesday, hundreds of anti-Israel protesters swarmed campus buildings and set up barricades at UCI, prompting a swift response from local law enforcement agencies. Students were ordered to leave the area immediately.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a UCI spokesperson described the campus erupting into chaos as protesters entered the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall and barricaded the building at 2:30 p.m. PST. The university called for assistance from local law enforcement, which responded promptly from the Irvine Police Department and Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Livestream footage of the confrontation captured at least one protester being arrested. Law enforcement officers, clad in protective gear and wielding batons, clashed with the demonstrators, who held umbrellas and chanted slogans such as "free, free Palestine" and "long live Palestine."
Rep. Garcia expressed concern that these protests were diverting police resources from other pressing matters in the city. "Our law enforcement officers are already stretched thin, and these protests are only adding to their workload," he said. "We need to find a way to ensure that our police can focus on protecting the public without being constantly pulled away to deal with these demonstrations."
The protests at UCI are part of a larger trend of anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses across the United States. These protests have been sparked by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
UC Irvine officials canceled classes for the remainder of Wednesday and announced that classes would be fully remote on Thursday as protests continued into the evening. The university urged people to avoid the campus until further notice.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued a statement condemning any violence or vandalism during the protests. He emphasized that the right to peaceful assembly is protected by the Constitution but warned that criminal activity, including failure to obey lawful orders to disperse, would be investigated and prosecuted.
Rep. Garcia called for a balance between the right to protest and the need to maintain public safety. "We need to protect the First Amendment rights of those who wish to express their views," he said. "However, we also need to ensure that these protests do not become a public safety hazard or disrupt the functioning of our universities."
