HOUSTON — Pro-Palestine protests continued Thursday at universities across the country with students demanding an end to the war in Gaza and for some universities to end their ties with Israel.
Hundreds of people have been arrested at the protests, including at the University of Texas at Austin. More than 50 people were arrested in connection with the rally held Wednesday at the university.
Experts said when it comes to protesting, students do have rights, and looking at the surface level, students were within their rights to protest at UT-Austin. The same goes for students who protested at the University of Houston and Rice University, a private institution. They said that just because you disagree with the message doesn't mean authorities should be allowed to shut down a legal protest.
Pro-Palestinian protests on UT-Austin's campus ended with more than 50 people behind bars, leaving many questioning why DPS would be mobilized to shut down what began as peaceful protests.
"It is deeply concerning what happened yesterday at UT-Austin as well as other threats to free speech that are happening across the country," Brian Klosterboer, with the ACLU of Texas, said.
KHOU 11 News spoke to legal experts at the ACLU and a law professor at the University of Houston, neither connected to UT-Austin, but said students have the right to protest on public university campuses.
"We are still investigating the details of what happened but are deeply concerned that some university and state officials seem to be suppressing the right to free speech and retaliating against people who are gathering and peacefully protesting," Klosterboer said.
Gov. Greg Abbott drew both support and criticism for a tweet denouncing UT-Austin's protest while calling for participants to be jailed and expelled.
Experts said the governor is in the wrong.
"You may disagree with someone who says what you may find the most offensive thing that you have ever heard. But they have the right to express that opinion," UH law professor Emily Berman said.
While protestors do not have the right to harass, threaten people or create an unsafe environment, experts said universities have long been places for protests and free speech.
"You can't selectively enforce regulations against protests you don't like. So if you wouldn't have shut down a protest on another issue, you can't do it with pro-Palestinian protests," Berman said.
As for the protests in Austin, students and other demonstrators have been back on campus not just protesting the war in Gaza, but also the police response over the last 24 hours.