WATCH: Authorities Dismantle Protestor Encampment at the University of Texas in Chaotic Scene

Original article here.

CNN’s Ed Lavandera was on the scene on Monday when Texas authorities dismantled a barricade made by student protestors at the University of Texas in Austin.

Reporting live, Lavandera watched as officers — from the Texas Department of Public Safety (in helmets and tan uniforms) and the Austin Police Department (in black uniforms) — tore down the barricade made up of folding tables that the students had constructed. The students chanted for the authorities to leave the campus.

Lavandera reported that about half an hour prior, a campus-wide text message that warned people that “they needed to disperse” and that anyone who did not leave would be arrested. Another warning was provided on the scene via loudspeaker after that message went out.

The scene at the University of Texas was one of the more forceful crackdowns on student activists, who were staging a protest in solidarity with pro-Palestine protests at New York’s Columbia University. Last Wednesday, Texas law enforcement, including the state’s National Guard, arrived in riot gear and made nearly 60 arrests. Charges were dropped for all of those who were arrested.

Student-led anti-war protests in support of Palestine — and some against Israel — have reached a fever pitch across the country as university leaders try to find a way to ensure campus safety ahead of commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University, students were given a 2:00 PM deadline to vacate their encampments or face possible suspension.

Watch the video above via CNN.