Republican lawmakers in California are slamming Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for his lack of urgency in responding to anti-Israel protests at UCLA. They are also threatening to pull state grants from universities that permit such protests.
Hours after officers in riot gear cleared an increasingly dangerous anti-Israel encampment at UCLA, top California Republicans on Thursday excoriated Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for a lack of urgency and a failure to act decisively to end the continued campus unrest.
GOP lawmakers also placed university leaders on notice, warning that legislators are already discussing pulling state grants from schools that allow the occupations to persist.
“We should not be giving Cal Grant money, state money, to students who are trampling on other people's rights," Assemblyman James Gallagher told reporters. "They should lose funding. And they did very little to protect students' rights. They should be punished for their failure to act."
“We as Republicans want accountability for this. No more words or failure to say anything or do anything, like we've seen out of Gavin Newsom, but actual actions to hold people accountable."
Republicans in the state legislature are also "calling for budget action" to hold university administrators accountable by "withholding part of their budget if necessary," state Sen. Brian Jones said.
"And the students that are found guilty of a crime, they lose their Cal Grants," he said.
Jones said students who "have nothing to do with these protests and nothing to do with these damages" will not be at risk of losing their grants if a bill gets drafted.
Newsom's office told Fox News Digital this week the state's office of emergency services would be ready to respond upon request from campus administrators but declined to comment when asked if National Guard troops would be called in.
"Any needed state support would be coordinated through the Law Enforcement Mutual Aid System, which is used to maintain public safety during emergencies, including civil unrest, and to provide assistance to local agencies during other unusual events or catastrophic disasters," a spokesperson for Newsom's office said.
"In these situations, Cal OES plays a coordinating role to make sure local responders receive the support they have requested for their responses to incidents affecting their campuses."
Early Thursday morning, police officers in riot gear knocked down a plywood barrier surrounding the anti-Israel encampment at UCLA, entering the area at around 1:54 a.m. after a lengthy and tense standoff with hundreds of agitators on campus.
Officers made about 200 arrests, breaking up the camp that had produced "several days of violent clashes," according to the school's chancellor, Gene Block.
The protests began last week after students set up an encampment on campus to protest Israel's treatment of Palestinians. The encampment quickly became a flashpoint for violence, with counter-protesters clashing with pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
The university administration has been criticized for its handling of the protests, with some accusing them of being too lenient with the demonstrators.
The protests at UCLA are part of a larger wave of anti-Israel protests that have taken place on college campuses across the country in recent weeks. These protests have sparked a debate about free speech and the limits of acceptable protest.
GOP lawmakers are hoping to pass legislation that would crack down on student rioters and hold university administrators accountable for allowing protests to get out of hand.
