Bystander video shows Texas state troopers slamming a cameraman to the ground during a pro-Palestine protest at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday. The cameraman was then detained.
Universities across the country saw pro-Palestine protests this week. At the University of Texas campus on Wednesday, students held a walkout to pressure the university into divesting from weapons manufacturing connected to Israel.
The protest turned violent, however, when Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in riot gear began pushing the peaceful crowd back. More than a dozen protesters, including an organizer, were reportedly arrested.
Another member of the crowd was a Fox 7 Austin cameraman, who was seen being thrown to the ground by police in a video posted to X by user @chris_kuhlman00.
Huffington Post deputy editor Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) posted a video of the photographer, who identified himself as Carlos of the local Fox affiliate, being detained by state troopers. “They were pushing me, and they said that I hit an officer,” Carlos said. “I didn’t hit an officer.”
Lewis asked, “Has this ever happened to you?” Carlos replied in the negative. “No. It’s never happened to me. I was just covering [this],” he said.
Austin American-Statesman and KVUE journalist Tony Plohetski reposted the video with the following caption: “I can’t remember a journalist ever being arrested for doing his job in my 24 years of reporting in Austin.”
It appears that the cameraman was only detained, but the Texas Tribune reports that a freelance reporter was officially arrested.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who reportedly requested the trooper presence at the protest, celebrated the arrests on X. “Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses. These protesters belong in jail,” he wrote. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period. Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.”
Users on the platform had a field day with the statement. Several noted that the governor in the past advocated for free speech on college campuses. One user asked, “Are you saying that you are arresting people for their speech??”
In its own post, the ACLU of Texas wrote, “The freedom to protest is integral to our democracy. UT Austin students have a First Amendment right to freely express their political opinions—without threats of arrest and violence.”
Watch the video below:
H/T @Chris_Kuhlman00
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