Texas Governor Greg Abbott Declares, ‘These Protestors Belong in Jail’

AP Photo/Eric Gay

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said pro-Palestinian protestors “belong in jail” while dismissing them as anti-Semites.

Demonstrators have been protesting Israel’s war in Gaza on university campuses across the United States. That includes the University of Texas at Austin. On Wednesday, hundreds of UT students walked out of class to protest the war while demanding the school disassociate itself from businesses that make weapons of war. At least 20 people have been arrested on campus.

One witness who happened upon the protest said he did not see any violence.

“I didn’t think it would escalate this far,” one sophomore told The Dallas Morning News. “And I didn’t think there would be this much police intervention from what’s supposed to be a peaceful protest.”

Officials at the university sent a letter stating that demonstrations “like we have seen at other campuses” will not be tolerated. Meanwhile, KXAN reported that on Tuesday the school told a pro-Palestine group they must cancel a scheduled event.

“Please be advised that you are not permitted to hold your event on the University campus,” UT told the group via letter. “Any attempt to do so will subject your organization and its attending members to discipline including suspension under the Institutional Rules. Individuals not affiliated with the University and attempting to attend this event will be directed to leave campus. Refusal to comply may result in arrest.”

Abbott took to social media on Wednesday and also threatened arrests while suggesting the protests are displays of “Antisemitism”:

Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses.

These protesters belong in jail.

Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period.

Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.

The governor has cast himself as a crusader for free speech. In 2019, he bragged of signing into law a bill bolstering free speech on campus.

At the time, the Texas Tribune said the legislation “would require universities to allow any person to engage in free speech activities on campus, create disciplinary sanctions for students who interfere with the free speech activities of others and establish a process for addressing complaints of potential free speech violations.”