Agitator at University of South Florida anti-Israel protest arrested with gun
An anti-Israel protester was arrested with a gun at the University of South Florida Tuesday.
Firearms were confiscated at student protests at both the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) over the last two days, authorities say.
Anti-Israel protester Atah Othman, 39, was one of 10 demonstrators arrested on the USF campus on Tuesday — and he was busted carrying a gun in his waistband, Fox 13 Tampa reports.
Othman faces four charges including possession of a firearm on school property, trespassing, unlawful assembly and resisting arrest, arrest records show. He was released on bond just after midnight on Wednesday, hours after protesters gathered at the Orient Road Jail calling for the ten people arrested to be released.
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Guns were found by police at student protests at both the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) this week, authorities say. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)
It is unclear if Othman is part of the school system or an outside agitator. The identities of the remaining nine people arrested are unclear.
USF says that up to 100 people arrived at campus for the protests yesterday and some were not affiliated with the university.
The arrests came after dozens of protesters gathered near Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza on campus for a rally, the same location where three people were arrested on Monday for similar protests.
USF gave a 5 p.m. deadline for protesters to disperse and, after then declaring that the demonstration was no longer lawful, police moved in with tear gas, warding off agitators and making arrests.
Meanwhile, a UT Austin spokesperson says that guns were found on its campus hidden in a breezeway on Monday, Fox 7 Austin reports. Buckets of large rocks, bricks, steel-reinforced wood planks, mallets and chains were all found on campus belonging to protesters.
"University staff found a 5-gallon bucket filled with large chunks of concrete strategically hidden in a breezeway of Calhoun Hall leading to the South Lawn," the spokesperson told Fox 7.
University of Texas at Austin police arrest a protester at an encampment on the south lawn on April 29, 2024. (Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman/Imagn)
"An identical bucket was found in a similar location during last Wednesday's protest. Similar buckets of rocks have been used during past protests in Austin to assault responding officers."
Nearly 80 people were arrested at UT Austin’s protests on Monday after demonstrators set up tents and a barricade on the South Lawn despite lawmakers banning camping in public areas in 2021.
Most of the protesters were charged with criminal trespass, one person was given an additional charge of obstruction and another was charged with interfering with public duties, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said.
At the University of California, Los Angeles, on Tuesday night, violent scenes broke out with protesters throwing chairs, using sticks and weapons to beat each other and shoving and kicking one another.
Meanwhile, approximately 300 agitators were arrested by New York City police overnight Tuesday into early Wednesday between protests at Columbia University and the City College of New York.
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NYPD officers in riot gear break into a building at Columbia University on April 30, 2024. NYPD sources tell Fox News that about 230 protesters were taken into custody during the incident. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
NYPD sources tell Fox News that about 230 protesters were taken into custody at Columbia University and of that number, between 40-50 were arrested in connection to the occupation of Hamilton Hall. The remaining protesters were arrested at City College.
A statement released by a Columbia spokesperson said officers entered the campus after the university requested help. A tent encampment on the school’s grounds began nearly two weeks ago to protest the Israel-Hamas war.
Fox News' CB Cotton, Chris Pandolfo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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