Live updates: Pro-Palestinian protesters set up surprise encampment on UT-Austin campus

With chants of "Free Palestine," protesters, many of them students, formed a surprise encampment at the University of Texas on Monday afternoon, setting up tents in the campus' South Mall.

"Whose lawn? Our lawn!" some protesters chanted.

This is the first escalation by protesters since initially beginning pro-Palestinian rallies on campus Wednesday, when 57 people were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing. All those charges were dropped, however, after Travis County Attorney Delia Garza, whose office handles misdemeanor cases, said her office agreed with defense lawyers that there were "deficiencies" with the probable cause arrest affidavits, which are the documents filled out by law enforcement to justify an arrest.

The surprise encampment came just after UT faculty at noon held a silent vigil for scholasticide, honoring the loss of education life in Gaza, and a rally for diversity, equity and inclusion on the west side of the UT Tower at 12:15 p.m.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered peacefully at UT for several days last week, and the encampment Monday was held in solidarity with others at several universities across the nation calling for their schools to divest from Israeli weapons manufacturers and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

More than 30,000 people have reportedly died in Gaza after Israel has bombarded the region in response to a deadly attack on the Jewish state Oct. 7 by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.

Group of protesters cleared almost three hours later

By about 4 p.m., there were no more protesters on the campus's South Lawn. Members of the final group had either been arrested or left the circle voluntarily to seek medical attention.

At least 30 people had been arrested.

— Lily Kepner

Gov. Greg Abbott doubles down on hardline response

Gov. Greg Abbott is keeping up his hardline approach to the ongoing protest at UT.

"No encampments will be allowed," Abbott said in a 3:10 p.m. reply on X to American-Statesman reporter Tony Plohetski's post showing law enforcement moving in to clear a would-be camp site on the university's property. "Instead, arrests are being made."

— John C. Moritz

UT issues statement, says it received online threats from group organizing protest

In a statement shared by UT spokesperson Mike Rosen at 2:30 p.m., the university said it had received "extensive online threats" on Saturday from a group organizing Monday's protest, though it did not name the group. It said the threats have been reported to local, state and federal law enforcement.

The statement said protesters on Monday "ignored repeated directives" from UT administration and law enforcement to comply with university rules and remove tents on the campus's South Lawn. The university said students "physically engaged with and verbally assaulted" staff members of the Office of the Dean of Students who attempted to confiscate them.

UT and law enforcement officers then dismantled the encampment and arrested "several protesters," the statement said.

"Baseball size rocks were found strategically placed within the encampment," the statement said.

The majority of the protesters are believed to be unaffiliated with the university, according to the statement.

— Tony Plohetski

Arrests made at protest; dozens of Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on campus

At least five people had been arrested by about 2 p.m., about 30 minutes after dozens of Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in riot gear arrived at the campus.

DPS troopers, UT police officers and Austin police officers could be seen forming a circle around the encampment. Protesters had created a barrier around the encampment using foldable tables, some of which appeared to be chained together. Officers could be seen using bolt cutters to cut the chains and wrestling tables from the circle.

— Lily Kepner and Chase Rogers

UT police give dispersal order at campus's South Mall

The UT Police Department announced shortly after the protest kicked off that a dispersal order had been issued. "Please leave the South Mall area immediately. Thank you for your cooperation," police said on X.

Three dispersal orders were sent to the campus community via text message at 1:12, 1:22 and 2:43 p.m., UT spokesperson Brian Davis said.

Around 1:30 p.m., police at the encampment gave a verbal dispersal order effective immediately, saying people could be arrested for rioting, disrupting a passageway or highway, or criminal trespassing.

Carl Manning-Stott, a mechanical engineering master's student at UT, said the text-messaged orders drew a far larger crowd than the protest did.

"I didn't even know there was a protest going on today, but once I got three texts from the police saying that everyone on South Lawn needs to disperse or be arrested, I felt compelled to go and offer some support," he wrote in a text to the Statesman.

"When they send messages like that, it's like the UTPD is sending up a flare signaling to 50,000 people, 'Hey, we're going to make a big scene, come check it out.'"

— Lily Kepner and Bayliss Wagner

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: LIVE: UT-Austin students form Pro-Palestinian protest encampment