Free Republic

Police disbanded the two-week-old pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pennsylvania this morning, resulting in 33 arrests of those who defied orders to leave, 6ABC reported. A Penn spokesperson said the university’s police department and the Philadelphia Police Department began an operation around 5:30 a.m. to dismantle the encampment. Protesters received a two-minute warning 20 minutes later to leave. Some of the protesters defied order and locked arms by the Benjamin Franklin statue on College Green. Thirty-three people were arrested without incident and cited for defiant trespass, according to the university. “Those who chose to stay did so knowing that...

As frat boys counter-protesting radical Palestinian supporters marching on the University of Mississippi campus are accused of “racism” for mocking the left-wing anti-Israel activists, virtually no condemnations are heard from these same voices in response to a pro-Palestinian woman outright denouncing “white people” at the UCLA encampment in Southern California. In a viral clip that has been making the rounds on social media in recent days, an anti-Israel protester at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) can be heard dismissing a counter-protester because he is a “white person.”

The Virginia State Police cleared an anti-Israel protest at the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville on Saturday and reportedly took over two dozen protesters into custody. Law enforcement officials in riot gear were seen approaching the pro-Palestinian encampment that sat on the university’s lawn and spraying chemical irritants as they began clearing the encampment, according to a video posted by The Cavalier Daily, UVA’s student-run newspaper.

The University of Vermont has capitulated to a demand by the campus anti-Israel “encampment,” canceling a commencement address by UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a black female diplomatic pioneer. The “encampment” is one of dozens across campuses in the U.S., demanding the destruction of Israel and making other antisemitic demands. According to local NBC affiliate WPTZ: Thomas-Greenfield is the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. UVM student protesters had listed the cancellation of her commencement speech as one of their key demands. She has overseen three votes for a cease-fire to war efforts in the Middle East, and has vetoed the...

Participants in the ongoing “Palestine Solidarity Encampment” at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have reportedly asked supporters to bring “vegan” and “gluten-free” food, whie warning “no nuts” and “no bananas.” The request list was obtained by Fox News’ Bill Melugin, and includes a variety of other supplies, including objects for use in clashes with counter-demonstrators and police, such as “gas masks,” “shields,” and “skater helmets.”

The minister of a church in Kensington Market says she’s “heartbroken” and “extremely anxious” for those staying at an encampment there after receiving word that the city intends to evict its residents and clear the site on Friday morning. Rev. Canon Maggie Helwig of St. Stephen-In-The-Field Anglican Church on Bellevue Avenue told CP24 that the City of Toronto’s Encampment Office informed them on Wednesday night that it plans to remove the makeshift camp, which is located on a small plot of private and city-owned land just west of the church, sometime between 7 and 9 a.m. on Friday. “We have...

A rash of legal disputes in San Francisco is highlighting the city's ongoing conflict over how to tackle homelessness. Driving the news: Hundreds of people faced off in dueling protests outside the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday as the city fights a temporary court order preventing it from clearing homeless encampments. The Coalition on Homelessness (COH) plans to request that a district court appoint a special master to ensure the city's compliance with the order at a hearing Thursday, the San Francisco Standard reports. Catch up quick: The nonprofit filed a lawsuit last fall alleging San Francisco violates...

Yesterday there was a massive fire in San Francisco at a construction site next to some occupied homes. The city’s Fire Chief said her first impression on seeing the fire was that it had the potential to take out an entire city block. Thanks solely to the hard work of about 140 SFFD firefighters that didn’t happen.The fire began shortly after 6 a.m. at Octavia Boulevard and Oak Street, firefighters said.More than 40 trucks and 130 firefighters arrived soon after, with the fire reaching four alarms…Shortly after 8:30 a.m., firefighters said the blaze had been contained with no reported injuries.Cameras...

The city of Phoenix will begin clearing the city's largest homeless encampment in the wake of a court ruling after neighbors brought a lawsuit against the local government. The homeless camp, known as The Zone, is located steps from the state Capitol building and the Arizona Diamondbacks' stadium. The city's Democratic Mayor Kate Gallego said in April that she agreed with the demolition of the camp 'in spirit.' While in March, Arizona's liberal Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would ban people setting up tents in public spaces. The lawsuit could be used to help other city's attempts to...

For a while during the runup to the elections last month, it looked as if former Republican real estate developer Rick Caruso might pull off a miracle and defeat Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass to become the next Mayor of Los Angeles. In the end, Bass squeaked out a six-point victory and will be inaugurated as the first female Mayor in the city’s history. Out on the campaign trail, Bass made a point of repeatedly promising to tackle the city’s endemic homelessness crisis. Not coincidentally, a large group of homeless people have been living in an encampment that activists set up...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said he plans to start clearing out homeless encampments in the city. In an interview with The New York Times published on Friday, Adams said he was seeking to clear the encampments within a two-week period, but did not say when.

The number of tents at the park has swelled in recent months...Near the intersection of Glendale Boulevard and Park Avenue, at one corner of the park, a crowd of people was gathering around 7 a.m. Wednesday to stop officials from forcing homeless individuals out. O’Farrell has said he plans to close the park but did not say when, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. A source with direct knowledge of the process told the newspaper the city plans to fence off the park and clear it of the homeless encampment on Thursday. However, the Times reported the source spoke on...

The encampment first appeared in Grand Park across from City Hall in June amid protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It was cleared out around 3 a.m. after deputies declared an unlawful assembly in the area, the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. Authorities said the action was taken because of “deteriorating conditions” in the park. They denied it was connected to the shooting of two deputies in Compton late Saturday or recent demonstrations against the department in South L.A. after deputies shot and killed bicyclist Dijon Kizzee. On Friday, deputies in riot gear surrounded a peaceful...

BERKELEY -- Amid screams, the buzz of a news helicopter and the rattle of barricades by angry people in the street, UC Berkeley today dismantled more of the tree-top encampment of protesters in a grove of trees next to Memorial Stadium. A crew of arborists and workers hired by the campus engaged in their second day of cutting ropes, removing supplies and tearing out improvised structures as tree-sitter sympathizers yelled at the workers from Piedmont Avenue and at stern-faced UC police who ringed the site. By early afternoon, virtually all of the protesters' ropes were gone. The year-and-a-half-old tree protest...