A Skirmish Breaks Out Near Pomona College’s Graduation
At least one person was arrested outside the event in Los Angeles, after pro-Palestinian protesters scuffled with police and private security officers.
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Scuffle Breaks Out During Pomona College Commencement
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to block access to Pomona College’s graduation ceremony on Sunday.
[chanting in call and response] Not another nickel, not another dime. No more money for Israel’s crime. Resistance is justified when people are occupied.
Reporting from Los Angeles
At least one person was arrested after scuffles broke out among pro-Palestinian protesters, private security officers and police officers outside Pomona College’s commencement in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, the latest confrontation between the school and a protest movement that has received strong support from students and faculty on campus.
The skirmish occurred outside the Shrine Auditorium, in downtown Los Angeles, where school administrators had made a last-minute decision to relocate the event. Since last week, protesters had been camping out on the school’s graduation stage at its campus in Claremont about 40 miles away.
As graduates and their families lined up outside the auditorium, more than a hundred protesters converged on the group, unfurling banners that read “Pomona College divest from genocide now,” and chanting “Shame!”
Minor fights broke out after demonstrators attempted to block some family members of the graduates from entering the venue. Los Angeles Police Department officers in riot gear moved in to disperse the crowd. No injuries were reported, and the commencement went on as scheduled.
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