Edan On arrested by UCLA; was identified during the attack on demonstrators

Lina PortmanMay 25, 2024

0 2 minutes read

More than three weeks after a group of counterprotesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, one person has been arrested in the case.

Edan On, 18, was arrested Thursday and held on $30,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. CNN identified On, 18, as one of the attackers in a special report last week.

Campus police, who did not identify On by name, said in a statement that an 18-year-old man “seen on video assaulting camp occupants with a wooden pole” was arrested Thursday and booked into jail on a charge of felonious assault with a deadly weapon.

Police said the arrest came after an investigation that included interviews with victims and witnesses and “review of security camera footage and publicly available videos from members of the public and media.” . They said the man was neither a UCLA student nor faculty or staff member.

The family did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.

On's arrest appears to be the first in the attack, which has become a flashpoint in protests against the war in Gaza that have swept campuses across the country this spring.

The attack on the UCLA encampment

The pro-Palestinian encampment had occupied the school's Dickson Square for about a week before the attack. Counterprotesters had demonstrated outside the camp for at least two nights before, but violence did not erupt.

Then, late on the night of April 30-May 1, counter-protesters began attacking pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Video broadcast live overnight showed a series of violent beatings that lasted for hours.

UCLA released a statement saying it “immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid.” However, the police arrived almost three hours later. No counter-protesters were arrested at that time.

A day later, several police departments swept the pro-Palestinian encampment and cleared it from campus. At least 200 people were arrested when the camp closed, according to the university. The university announced that the encampment had been emptied, in part because “clashes between protesters and counter-protesters put too many Bruins in danger.”

The school faced constant questions about how it handled the counterprotesters who sparked the violence. Six days after the attack, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said the school was “committed to finding those responsible.”

University police said Friday they were “actively working to identify additional perpetrators of violence associated with any protest or counter-protest activity.”

Lina Portman

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