LOS ANGELES — An independent journalist and prominent police critics were among the dozens of people detained by police at the UCLA campus amid ongoing protests of the Gaza war on Monday morning — raising objections from legal experts and press organizations.

Journalist Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, who has a long history of covering protest movements in Los Angeles and whose video work in particular has been featured in various mainstream news outlets, was detained — with his hands zip-tied behind his back — while observing the detention of dozens of others in a campus parking garage, according to video of the incident.

William Gude, a prominent police critic in L.A. who regularly records officers on the street for his many social media followers, was also among those detained, according to a livestream he recorded that was posted to YouTube.

The university said 44 people were arrested but did not release further details. Its Police Department did not immediately respond to questions about the situation Monday, or about a possible curfew.

As of Friday afternoon, L.A. city prosecutors had not received “any submissions from law enforcement arising out of the protests at USC or UCLA for consideration,” said Ivor Pine, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

None of those detained could immediately be reached for comment. However, their detentions brought immediate demands for their release from others.

“Unless you can provide an explanation, please ensure both Beckner-Carmitchel and Gude are immediately released,” Adam Rose, press rights chair for the Los Angeles Press Club, wrote in an email to campus leaders.

In her own email to campus officials, Susan E. Seager, who directs the Press Freedom Project at UC Irvine School of Law and represents independent journalists in court, called Beckner-Carmitchel’s detention illegal — including under a recent California law expanding journalists’ rights at protests — and demanded his release.

“Sean had the right to film police even if police had set up police lines or even if they had declared a curfew,” she said in an interview with The Times.

Seager also warned that it would be illegal for police to search any of Beckner-Carmitchel’s devices.

...continued

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.