Steve Garvey, one of the final two candidates for California’s U.S. Senate seat, called pro-Palestinian protesters who build encampments on college campuses “terrorists,” as tension over the Gaza war intensifies.
Garvey, a Republican, made the statements Thursday in Los Angeles about the University of Southern California — a day after police arrested almost 100 anti-war protesters on campus on trespassing charges during a largely peaceful demonstration Wednesday.
The event was part of the latest nationwide wave of student-led protests at public and private colleges and universities as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza during the Israeli offensive in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel. For months, demonstrators have been calling for a permanent ceasefire in the war that has now killed more than 33,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
Some students are pressuring their university leaders to divest from Israel and defense contractors that sell weapons to Israel. The demonstrations sparked clashes between police officers and protesters and led to arrests of activists across campuses, with some Columbia University students filing a federal civil rights complaint against law enforcement.
At the University of Southern California, tension has been brewing for more than a week after administrators canceled the commencement speech by valedictorian Asna Tabassum, after a pro-Israel group deemed her social media post of a pro-Palestinian link antisemitic, which she disputed. Today, USC canceled its main-stage commencement entirely.
On Wednesday, students built tents where the commencement was supposed to take place, with some holding up “Free Palestine” signs, the Los Angeles Times reported. The university’s Hillel Foundation, a Jewish organization, condemned some of the chants as antisemitic, while the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Los Angeles, a Muslim advocacy group, criticized the university for a “violent crackdown” and “use of excessive forces” against free speech.
Thursday, Garvey waded into the debate. Making a rare public appearance after the March 5 primary, he claimed that the protesters supported terrorists, calling the USC protest “terrorism disguised as free speech” without pointing to any specific language used by demonstrators.
The First Amendment protects speeches even if they sound extremely “menacing” or “threatening,” according to Michelle Deutchman, executive director of the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement at the University of California.
“These organizations aren’t by kids in dormitories who are making a statement that they probably don’t really understand what it’s about. This is organized support of terrorism,” Garvey claimed. “I believe demonstrations that allow people to build encampments that obstruct the pathway to classes, and the opportunity to learn, is terrorism.”
Garvey’s campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry for evidence supporting claims of protesters’ ties to terrorism, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation defines as involving unlawful use of violence to “intimidate or coerce” the government or civilians to advance a political or social agenda.
Garvey said he would support charging protesters with terrorism if the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office decided to do so. When asked if the office plans to bring those charges, spokesperson Venusse Dunn said: “When law enforcement presents a case to our office, we apply the law to the facts of each case and determine what charges, if any, are appropriate.”
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