Start the day smarter ☀️ How often do women giving birth at individual hospitals experience heart attacks, seizures, kidney failure, blood transfusions or other potentially deadly problems? Notable deaths in 2023 Human trafficking laws
FACT CHECK
fact-checking

Police provided security, did not evacuate Jewish students at UC San Diego | Fact check

Andre Byik
USA TODAY

The claim: Police evacuated Jewish students from UC San Diego due to 'anti-Israeli mob'

A Nov. 20 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside a building where a woman speaks about safety concerns on college campuses.

"The police have been forced to evacuate Jewish students from a building of University of California San Diego where they had gathered to discuss antisemitic threats," the video's caption reads. "Swiftly, a large and threatening anti-Israeli mob gathered in front of the building."

The post was liked more than 8,000 times in a week.

More from the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team:

Fact check roundup: Israel-Hamas war sparks many misleading claims online. Here's what's true and false.

Our rating: False

Police did not evacuate Jewish students from the campus building, UC San Diego officials said. A pro-Israeli student organization worked with the school and police to provide security and escorts before a Nov. 1 student government meeting.

Student group worked with police to provide security, school says

While Jewish students did speak at the Nov. 1 Associated Studentsmeeting about antisemitism and concerns for their safety amid the 2023 war between Israel and Hamas, school officials told USA TODAY that police did not evacuate them from the building.

"The person who posted the video had incorrect information about the evacuation of a UC San Diego building where Jewish students were speaking," Anne Buckley, UC San Diego's chief communications and marketing officer, said in an email. "Police did not evacuate the building."

The student organization Tritons for Israel worked with the school's Student Affairs division and police to "provide preplanned security" for the Associated Students meeting shown in the video, Buckley said.

Fact check: Residents in some states getting tax rebate, not an IRS stimulus check

Laura Margoni, another spokesperson for the school, said police were there for security and escorts ahead of the meeting, as explained in a Nov. 18 university statement. The statement reiterates that "police did not evacuate the building."

The woman speaking in the Instagram video can also be seen speaking in a recording of the meeting posted on the Associated Students – UC San Diego Facebook page. The Facebook recording shows the meeting continued for several hours after the woman and other students spoke. The meeting went into recess at about 11 p.m. – the stated closing time for the building – to continue on a virtual platform later that night.

The current Israel-Hamas war has prompted demonstrations, activism and free-speech debates at college campuses across the country. The U.S. Education Department announced on Nov. 16 it had opened five investigations in November over allegations of antisemitic harassment and two regarding anti-Muslim harassment, USA TODAY reported.

Tritons for Israel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Instagram user who shared the video also did not respond to a request for comment.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.

Featured Weekly Ad