Regional Overview
United States & Canada | April 2024
SPECIAL FOCUS: US Campus Demonstrations Rise in the Face of a Sharper Police Crackdown
Posted: 10 May 2024
SPECIAL FOCUS: US Campus Demonstrations Rise in the Face of a Sharper Police Crackdown
SPECIAL FOCUS: US Campus Demonstrations Rise in the Face of a Sharper Police Crackdown(data updated to 3 May 2024)
From 18 April — when police arrested more than 100 students at Columbia University in New York — to 3 May, ACLED records over 550 demonstrations linked to the Israel-Palestine conflict occurring on university campuses across more than 450 cities in at least 35 states and Washington, DC. These include mostly encampment-style demonstrations, in which students have set up tents and other temporary structures on university campuses. Though campus demonstrations have been ongoing for just over two weeks, they already represent about 20% of all pro-Palestine demonstrations since the conflict reignited in October 2023. The demonstrations have been accompanied by calls for universities to divest their financial assets from Israeli companies or companies seen as assisting the Israeli military.
Nearly all of the demonstrations that occurred on college campuses — 97% — remained peaceful, while police intervened in more than 10%. In around 70 cases, universities responded to student encampments by calling for police to intervene and remove demonstrators on the grounds that they were trespassing. In some cases, demonstrators fought with police or threw hard objects at them during the intervention. However, roughly 14% of campus demonstrations with police intervention saw demonstrators become violent, while only 2% of demonstrations saw demonstrators become violent when police did not intervene.
Some notable violent incidents have taken place between opposing groups of demonstrators on university campuses. Overnight on 30 April, pro-Israel demonstrators attacked the encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The demonstrators dismantled police barricades set up around a pro-divestment encampment, launched fireworks and threw tear gas into the encampment, and began to tear it down, fighting any students who attempted to stop them. Both pro-Palestine demonstrators within the encampment and pro-Israel demonstrators used pepper spray on each other, and the groups fought for more than two hours before police arrived to separate them.1Regan Morris & Sam Cabral, ‘UCLA clashes: Police criticised for ‘delayed’ response to violence,’ BBC, 1 May 2024 Violence has also taken place between demonstrators and police. On 27 April, three officers were injured, with one suffering a severe concussion, while forcefully breaking up a student encampment at Washington University in Saint Louis. At the same demonstration, police struck a history professor while he was handcuffed, breaking his hand and several of his ribs.2‘SIUE professor says he has broken bones after police response to Washington U. protest,’ Belleville News-Democrat, 3 May 2024
In other instances, universities responded to student encampment demands by negotiating with the demonstrators. Students voluntarily dismantled their encampment at Rutgers University in New Brunswick after university leadership agreed to meet eight of their 10 demands.3Christine Sloan, ‘Rutgers University protest agreement not sitting well with everyone on campus. Here’s what they’re saying,’ CBS News New York, 8 May 2024 Likewise, at the University of California Riverside, students voluntarily took down their encampment after the school agreed to post public information on its investments, form a task force to investigate its endowment, and commit to bimonthly meetings with students.4The Hemet and San Jacinto Chronicle, ‘UC Riverside protestors reach agreement to end pro-Palestinian encampment,’ 6 May 2024. Numerous other universities have reached similar compromises with student demonstrators.5Sarah Shamim, ‘Pro-Palestine protests: How some universities reached deals with students,’ Al Jazeera, 7 May 2024.
United States: Anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrations rise amid rallies outside state capitols
Anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrations sharply rose in the US in April, reaching their highest recorded levels since July 2023. Roughly 85% of these demonstrations took place on 13 April, as rallies operated by ‘Don’t Mess with Our Kids’ were held in at least 15 states and Washington, DC. These rallies were organized in partnership with the Christian group Her Voice as part of a ‘Call to the Capitols’ action to protest against the existence of school materials related to LGBTQ+ people.6Flint McColgan and Stuart Cahill, Anti-gender transition demonstration at Massachusetts State House gets counter-protest,’ Boston Herald, 13 April 2024.
State legislatures have introduced a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills — nearly 500 — just this year, but only a small fraction of these — around 20 — have been signed into law.7Casey Parks, ‘Push to restrict LGBTQ+ rights hits a snag in state legislatures,’ The Washington Post, 29 April 2024. Given this recent string of failures, it is unclear to what extent anti-LGBTQ+ issues will continue to be prominent in the lead-up to the 2024 election.
United States: Ongoing far-right militia, militant social movement, and white supremacist training events and other activities
United States: Ongoing far-right militia, militant social movement, and white supremacist training events and other activitiesFar-right militia, militant social movements, and white supremacist activity decreased between March and April. In Arizona, a network of groups including the Lions of Liberty, Chino Valley Preparedness Team, and the Verde Valley Preparedness Team continued to hold recruitment meetings. This network also founded the Dewey Preppers in April, a new group based in Dewey-Humboldt. Meanwhile, members of the Proud Boys also participated in at least two demonstrations in support of former President Donald Trump and called for people convicted for their involvement in the 6 January Capitol riot to be released from prison.
Openly white supremacist activity also decreased in April. However, both White Lives Matter (WLM) groups and Rise Above Movement affiliated Active Clubs roughly doubled their activity from March to April. White Lives Matter affiliates disseminated fliers in Missouri, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Oregon, marking their first recorded activity in Oregon. As a part of a monthly day of action, White Lives Matter affiliates also demonstrated in Tennessee, Wisconsin, Washington, Pennsylvania, and California in support of white supremacy. Meanwhile, several Active Clubs (loosely affiliated with the Rise Above Movement) conducted trainings in North Dakota, Florida, Michigan, and Missouri. This month marks the first recorded activity of the Rise Above Movement in both North Dakota and Missouri. Around 30 April, neo-Nazi groups, including Patriot Front and Active Club members, participated in a fighting tournament in Northern Texas. Meanwhile, the Goyim Defense League (GDL) distributed fliers in Virginia, Texas, and Illinois. Flyers promoting GDL and WLM were also found in Wisconsin, marking the sixth recorded joint activity between GDL and WLM, but the first in Wisconsin.
Patriot Front activity slightly decreased compared to the previous month. The group held trainings, dropped banners, and distributed fliers in at least 14 states, and held demonstrations in at least six states. In Livingston, Montana, members of Patriot Front demonstrated alongside several active clubs against a drag show.
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