May 2, 2024 - US college protests

President Joe Biden said protesters on college campuses should be free to express their views, but should not devolve into trespassing or violence.

Attempting to draw a line between peaceful protests and violent demonstrations, Biden acknowledged that protesters had a right to have their voices heard, but criticized instances of trespassing and vandalism that have taken place.

"Violent protest is not protected," Biden said. "Peaceful protest is. It's against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law."

"Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelation of classes and graduation -- none of this is a peaceful protest."

The cleanup process has started at the site where UCLA demonstrators had camped out in protest.

Los Angeles police and private campus security have moved back to the scene. They were seen climbing over the strewn tents and debris left behind.

A CNN team on the ground was told the area will be cleared and then sanitized.

President Joe Biden on Thursday said both the right to free speech and the rule of law must be upheld as protests roil college campuses across the country.

“We’ve all seen images that put to the test two fundamental American principles: the first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard. The second is the rule of law. Both must be upheld,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room.

He said the US was not an “authoritarian nation” where dissenting voices are silenced.

But he also said the US was a “civil society” where “order must prevail.”

It's the first time the president has spoken extensively on the protests that are sprouting up on college campuses across the country.

Portland police officer have arrested two people outside of Portland State University's library, according to an alert from the police department posted on social media.

The department also said police officers are inside the library.

"They are doing a slow, methodical clear of the building. As expected, we have encountered barricades. Officers are clearing them as they go," the department said in another social media post.

President Joe Biden has said little about the unrest that has gripped certain college campuses in the last few weeks.

He told reporters at an Earth Day event on April 22 that he condemned antisemitism, but also “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”

The comment was his last public remark on the matter. The president is expected to deliver remarks from the White House about the campus protests on Thursday.

Since that initial comment, Biden has avoided questions about the protests, drawing criticism from Republicans. Instead, the administration position on the unrest has been conveyed through spokespeople and in written statements.

The White House on Wednesday sought to answer questions about Biden’s relative silence by pointing to his condemnation of antisemitism.

“No president, no president has spoken more forcefully about combating antisemitism than this president,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked why the country hadn’t heard directly from Biden about the protests.

President Joe Biden will speak at the White House on Thursday about the ongoing protests that have roiled college campuses across the country.

The president is expected to deliver remarks before he departs for North Carolina later in the day.

Law enforcement cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles campus early Thursday morning, after breaking down a barricade and arresting over 100 protesters.

See more photos of protests around the country.

There were 132 arrests made on the UCLA campus during an operation to remove a protest encampment Thursday morning, authorities said.

About 250 officers were involved — about one officer for every protester in the encampment, California Highway Patrol spokesperson Alejandro Rubio told CNN. in addition to officers from other jurisdictions.

Rubio said fire extinguishers and water bottles were thrown at police, but no officers were injured.

“Flash bangs were used,” CHP public information officer Alec Pereyda said. “Those are shot into the air to try and get the crowd to pay attention and realize that it's time to disperse and leave the area.”

The UCLA Police Department will determine if charges are filed, Rubio said.

The Portland State University campus is closed Thursday "due to ongoing incident at library," PSU posted on X. "Check http://pdx.edu email for more information."

Earlier Thursday, Portland police said they were working to clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Portland State University's library.

CNN previously reported negotiations with student protesters — who entered the library Monday — fell through early Wednesday, though about 50 people left the building on their own.