NYT: UT's pro-Palestinian protest arrests among highest in U.S.

New data analysis from The New York Times found more than 3,100 arrests were made at pro-Palestinian protests this spring, with the University of Texas at Austin accounting for one of the highest arrest totals on a single campus.

Editor's Note: The above video is reporting from June 26, 2024, when Travis County Attorney Delia Garza announced her office had dismissed criminal trespass cases related to pro-Palestinian protests on the University of Texas at Austin's campus.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- New data analysis from The New York Times found more than 3,100 arrests were made at pro-Palestinian protests this spring, with the University of Texas at Austin accounting for one of the highest arrest totals on a single campus.

Pro-Palestinian protests held on UT's campus April 24 and April 29 resulted in 136 people arrested, with 57 arrests made following the April 24 protest and 79 after the April 29 one. According to NYT data, those 136 arrests made were among the highest recorded in the country.

NYT data found 2,013 arrests at public schools and 1,129 arrests at private schools have resulted from Pro-Palestinian protests held since April 18.

The University of California at Los Angeles has the highest recorded arrest amount, with 271 people arrested. Columbia University trailed shortly behind with 217 arrests, and the City College of New York arresting 173 people.

UT's arrest count was the fourth highest reported in the country, based on NYT reporting. Other college campuses with arrest levels similar to UT's included the State University of New York at New Paltz with 132 arrests, the University of Massachusetts with 130 arrests, the University of California, Santa Cruz with 124 arrests and Emerson College with 118 arrests.

In the months since, many of those arrest charges have been dropped across the country. Here in Austin, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza confirmed in late June her office was dismissing dozens of criminal trespass cases amounting from the April 29 protest; that followed her dismissal of the 57 arrests made April 24, saying they didn't have "sufficient probable cause."

However, UT officials said in a June 11 statement the university would continue to carry out disciplinary action against students they say violated campus rules during those April 24 and April 29 protests.

The University has made clear that we enforce institutional rules, and the conduct notices sent to students who violated our rules during protests on April 24th and 29th reflect that commitment. The actions and stated intentions of those participating in these protests stand in stark contrast to no fewer than 13 previous pro-Palestinian free speech events on our campus since October, which took place largely without incident. The University of Texas will continue to support the Constitutional rights to free speech of all individuals on our campus and will also enforce our rules, while providing due process and holding students accountable.

University of Texas at Austin statement

NYT's analysis of the protests, resulting arrests and subsequently dropped cases found protesters were arrested and detained at more than 70 schools across 30 states in the U.S. Those campuses' student population sizes varied from as many with 80,000 students to those with student bodies under 4,000, per the NYT.