LOS ANGELES — Wearing face coverings, counter-protesters stormed the UCLA encampment throwing fireworks at pro-Palestinian supporters Tuesday night.
Fights soon broke out and the Daily Bruin photographer, Max Davis-Housefield, found himself in the middle of the violence. Rolling on his camera, he continued capturing videos of the events.
Staying late on campus to cover the demonstration was not unusual for the freshman who has been covering the protest since it began last Thursday. Those in the encampment have been demanding UCLA divest from Israeli investments and military contractors.
Counter-protesters had been showing up on campus in the days leading up to the violent outbreak, continuing to grow tensions between both sides.
Davis-Housefield laid out the scene, saying something about the night felt different.
“A white mask. I remember very vividly someone walking past me in a white mask that completely covered their face, something kind of like you’d see at Halloween. And it just looked so fundamentally different from the masks we’d been seeing all day,” said Davis-Housefield.
Videos taken show the counter-protesters wearing masks with sweaters that read "Free our Hostages."
Max was able to get to safety, but that wasn’t the case for his colleague Daily Bruin editor Catherine Hamilton, who was attacked.
Hamilton required hospital care for her injuries, but has since been released and is recovering. She says it was about a group of 10 wearing masks that surrounded her and three other Daily Bruin staff.
“He was wearing a mask, but his voice was incredibly recognizable to me,”
She shares the only reason she could recognize his voice is because he had harassed her multiple times while she was reporting during the previous days.
She, too, says the masks felt like a point of intimidation and points out the stark contrast with the previous stance on masks by counter-protestors.
“The counter-protesters who had been outside the encampment very frequently and very repeatedly would ask those inside the encampment to take off their masks. And would ask them why they were wearing masks and would make a lot of references to COVID. They would say things about letting them video the people inside the encampment, and then they show up last night and they’re wearing like ski masks,” said Hamilton.
She adds these masks were not like the medical masks frequently used by the Pro-Palestinian demonstrators, rather they covered their full face.
The use of them becomes a legal issue according to Brian Levin, Founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
“In California, there is a Penal Code Statute that makes it a crime to cover one’s face, to commit a crime. So if you’re if you’re wearing a mask because you’re trick-or-treating, you’re okay. If you’re wearing a mask because you’re going to rob a bank, that’s not okay, and it’s a misdemeanor,” said Levin.
Beyond the misdemeanor, there are other charges he says can be added if those people are arrested like disorderly conduct, battery, use of a deadly weapon, assault and criminal trespassing.
In response to the events, Gov. Newsom put out a statement saying:
“I condemn the violence at UCLA last night. The law is clear: The right to free speech does not extend to inciting violence, vandalism, or lawlessness on campus. Those who engage in illegal behavior must be held accountable for their actions — including through criminal prosecution, suspension or expulsion.”
The issue with the masks is that it also makes identifying, arresting and charging people difficult for law enforcement.
Levin says the videos taken that night will most likely now become a tool for law enforcement in the same manner videos were used after the insurrection.
“Someone in their life would know something about their physical characteristics or their specific attire the jigsaw pieces add up,” said Levin.
He cautions that this is not what we are seeing on other campuses where things have been peaceful and says this one case should not be repeated.
The delayed response from law enforcement has also come under scrutiny as CHP was not on scene until hours after the violence broke out.
Gov. Newsom releases an additional statement in response saying:
“The limited and delayed campus law enforcement response at UCLA last night was unacceptable — and it demands answers. As soon as it became clear that state assistance was needed to support a local response, our office immediately deployed CHP personnel to campus.”