College protests live: Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists arrested as NYPD under fire for crackdown

Police have arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian students as protests against Israel’s war in Gaza continued across universities over the weekend.

At least 25 protesters were arrested as police cleared an encampment at the University of Virginia, the university said in a statement.

Dozens of people were arrested for criminal trespass outside the Art Institute of Chicago at a demonstration after the institute called in police to remove protesters.

Meanwhile, students carried flags and banners during the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony after the NYPD revealed on Friday morning that a police officer with the department’s Emergency Service Unit “unintentionally” fired his gun while trying to access a locked office at Columbia University.

The bullet hit a wall inside the office. No one was injured.

On Thursday morning, hundreds of police officers dismantled a pro-Palestinian protest camp at the University of California at Los Angeles and arrested more than 130 demonstrators.

Live TV footage showed protesters under arrest, kneeling on the ground, their hands bound behind their backs with zip ties. Loud explosions were heard during the clash from flash-bang charges, or stun grenades, fired by police.

President Joe Biden also denounced protests that turned violent on college campuses on Thursday.