A pro-Palestine protest of around 150 people formed at the Travis County Jail Wednesday night. The gathering is in response to the arrests of at least 34 people on UT campus earlier in the day during a demonstration organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee. 

“It’s a result of police incitement and escalation at what was supposed to be a peaceful walkout and collective gathering on the UT lawn,” said PSC member and psychology senior Jenna, who asked to only be referred to by their first name for safety reasons. “We wanted to have study sessions and educational activities, but police escalated things to the point where we were always surrounded.” 

Austin police officers and state troopers met crowds on Speedway, along with Department of Public Safety officers deployed at the order of Gov. Greg Abbott, according to a statement posted from the agency. Throughout the afternoon, the University’s police department sent out several incident notifications, warning of a police presence and asking students to avoid the area. 

Officers maneuvered the hundreds of protesters in Gregory Plaza first to Brazos Garage, again up Speedway and then to the South Mall. DPS officers on horseback then maneuvered crowds to the intersection of Guadalupe and 22nd streets, after which they rode off. 

The dispersal order officially ended at 9:00 p.m., according to a campus incident notification. 

“We want our comrades in (the jail) to hear us,” a protester rallied to the crowd after chanting “free our comrades, drop the charges” and “free Palestine” outside the jail. 

“It’s a shame and now we are here to protest for their release,” said Jenna. “There was no crime.”