US campus protests: Speaker Johnson heckled by protesters amid encampments and violent clashes
US House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks at Columbia University as police detains a student protester.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday(April 24) was heckled by Columbia University students as pro-Palestine protests continued to spread across various university campuses in the United States.
Johnson's visit to the university, which he claimed was aimed at supporting Jewish students who had been intimidated by the demonstrators, happened shortly after the deadline to reach an agreement for removing the encampmentwas extended from Wednesday morning to Friday morning.
Republican House Speaker Johnson claimed that Columbia Universityofficials have no control over the situation now. He further asked university president Nemat Shafik to resign.
Also Read:Columbia University shifts to virtual classes following on-campus arrests amid anti-Israel protests
Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University also demanded Shafik's resignationfor allowing a police crackdown on the protests.
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House Speaker gets booed at press conference, hints at calling National Guard troops
In a press conference held at Columbia University along with other Republican lawmakers, Johnson said that the protests were not legally protected free speech.
He further stated that Columbia University failed to restore order on campus and protect Jewish students amid increasing concerns about antisemitism on campus.
"This is dangerous. We respect free speech,werespect diversity of ideas, but there is a way to do thatin a lawful mannerand that's not what this is. My message to the students inside the encampment isgoback to class and stop the nonsense," said Johnson.
"I am here today joining my colleagues and calling on President [Minouche] Shafik to resign if she cannot immediately bring order to this chaos," said the Louisiana Republican to the gathered crowd amid boos and chants of "Mike, you suck", “Free, free Palestine”. and "We can't hear you".
The speaker added that he briefly met with Shafik and other top officials to encourage them "to take immediate action and stamp this out."
"Our feeling is that they have not acted to restore order on the campus. This is not free expression. This is notFirstAmendment. They are threatening, intimidating," he said.
Watch:Protests grip US universities: Pro-Palestinian protests sweep US campuses
Johnson also hinted that the authorities may call National Guard troops to control the situation.
Violent clashes erupt between protesters and police amid calls for dispersal
Meanwhile, various universities appealed to the protesters to disperse as police clashed with pro-Palestinian student protesters in Texas and California.
The police arrested around 20 protesters at the University of Texas campus in Austinand also detained some of them at the University of Southern California.
The University of Texas had earlier issued a “Notice of Dispersal Order” for the protesters. The university's faculty members, meanwhile, called the police crackdown a “militarised response” to the protests.
“We have witnessed police punching a female student, knocking over a legal observer, dragging a. student over a chain link fence, and violently arresting students for simply standing at the front of the crowd,” read the statement.
The police also arrested some pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Southern California after they failed to abide by the orders of dispersal. Some of the protesters even blocked traffic on nearby streets. At least 30 protesterswere takeninto custody.
(With inputs from agencies)