It’s been just over three weeks since a mob of counter-protesters attacked what had been a peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration at UCLA, beating and injuring several people, shooting fireworks and pepper spray into the crowd and using sticks and other weapons while police officers stood by. With the help of local researchers, media reports have started to identify who the attackers were.
- The assault happened in the early hours of April 30, when dozens of counter-protesters, some wearing pro-Israel paraphernalia, began attacking the protesters using pepper spray, sticks and their fists. The onslaught lasted at least three hours before police officers showed up to separate the groups.
- On Wednesday, CNN published an investigation naming several of the people involved in the attack, some of whom were interviewed by journalists. By analyzing hundreds of videos, CNN tracked down one of the most violent counter-protestors, an 18-year-old Beverly Hills resident, whose parents initially expressed support for him, before changing course and saying he was not present at the incident.
- Late last week The Guardian named three of the attackers in an investigative story analyzing why far-right groups joined forces with the pro-Israel crowd during the attack. One of the men named in The Guardian’s story has a long history of antisemitism. He did not explain to the paper why he was involved in the attack.