It was the latest move by Abbott (R) to position himself as one of America’s most assertive red state governors, willing to do battle with the political left in the national spotlight. But the aggressiveness of the response alarmed students, professors, Democrats and even some Republicans who have already sided with Abbott in his crusades to protect free speech on college campuses.
The third-term governor has already built a national reputation for his boundary-pushing policies aimed at securing the Texas-Mexico border, including busing migrants to Democratic-run cities. Former President Donald Trump has mentioned him as a possible vice presidential candidate, although Abbott has denied interest. And Abbott has moved increasingly to the right in recent years, leading a charge this spring to purge the House of Representatives of fellow Republicans who have thwarted his school voucher agenda.
On Thursday, however, Abbott found himself in a broader storm of scrutiny. Critics were quick to note, for example, that Abbott was proud to sign a law in 2019 aimed at protecting free speech on college campuses by ensuring that anyone can protest in common outdoor spaces as long as it does not violate the law or disrupt the regular operation of the university. school. That’s precisely what those arrested Wednesday were doing, they said.
“I have yet to hear any evidence of property damage or bodily injury, and so the response – the police response – appears to have been in anticipation of something that did not happen, that ultimately did not happen. not produced,” the state senator said. . Sarah Eckhardt (D), whose district includes the UT Austin campus. “That said, politics is not going to let up, and that is deeply troubling.”
Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the rationale for or criticism of his action. But on social media, the governor responded approvingly to law enforcement’s response, saying the protesters “belong in jail” and that any students participating in the protest “Hateful and anti-Semitic demonstrations” in public colleges should be expelled.
The latter reflected Abbott’s issuance last month of an executive order requiring public universities to review their free speech policies to curb the “sharp increase in anti-Semitic speech and acts” on campus.
Protesters on Thursday said the show of force ordered by Abbott was striking but not surprising.
” Governor. “Abbott is taking advantage of a very political opportunity to enforce his agenda, a very right-wing agenda focused on control and not governance,” said Chelsea Collier, a doctoral student at the School of Information and a Texas native who spent his entire college career at UTAH.
Varun Jawarani, 21, an Austin graduate majoring in computer science, said the message he received was: “Don’t have a dissenting opinion from the state government, or else we we’ll send the police. »
Not all students found the answer troubling.
Lily Caplan, 19, a sophomore journalism student from Westport, Conn., joined other members of Longhorn Students for Israel in a counter-protest next to the pro-Palestinian rally Thursday, waving Israeli flags and chanting “Bring them home now” – a reference to Jewish hostages in Gaza.
“Yesterday we saw a totally different response than other universities in the country and I, as a Jewish student, was very grateful. Don’t mess with Texas,” she said, echoing a state slogan as she stood in a circle with other counterprotesters. Caplan said she was reassured by the support of Abbott and university president Jay Hartzell.
As governor, Abbott aggressively exercised his executive power to address issues important to conservatives. The largest example is Operation Lone Star, a massive border security mission that cost Texas taxpayers billions of dollars and involved border blockades and massive enforcement in defiance of the role of federal government in matters of immigration.
More broadly, Texas Republicans are targeting public universities more than ever, describing them as bastions of “wokeness” where conservative views are not welcome. Last year, Abbott signed a bill to ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices at Texas public colleges and universities — a law that hit UT particularly hard.
Abbott and his Republican allies are unlikely to stop there. The governor said in a speech in Austin last month that there were “a few mockers” trying to get around the anti-DEI law and that lawmakers would work to crack down harder in the next legislative session.
“Just know this,” Abbott said, “we are watching what our universities are doing.”
Abbott is not the only red state governor taking a hard line against protests linked to the Gaza war. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that if he were present, he would “send the Justice Department after” colleges where anti-Semitic protests are taking place and cancel the visas of foreign students participating in the protests.
In Texas, many Republican activists and lawmakers applauded Abbott’s response Wednesday. But this idea has not been universally adopted on the right.
Mark Davis, a conservative radio host in Dallas who has interviewed Abbott several times, initially wondered why exactly the protesters were arrested. He later said he received adequate responses.
He later said he found the response justified after social media users noted that UT management had told organizers not to go ahead with the event, saying it would “violate our policies and our rules and would disrupt our campus operations.”
Justin Amash, a former Michigan congressman who is now running for Senate as a Republican, challenged Abbott to be clearer about the reasons for the arrests.
“If he arrests them for their speeches, then he is violating the law and his actions threaten everyone in the state, including everyone he claims to protect,” Amash said. said the.
Abbott’s confrontations with higher education are unfolding as the Texas Legislature’s Republican majorities become increasingly supportive — and combative toward those who don’t share their views. The March primary was a triumph for insurgent Republicans, some with Abbott’s support, with 17 incumbent Republican House candidates losing or forcing into runoffs.
One of the challengers who won a seat, North Texas attorney Mitch Little, was unapologetic Wednesday about the response to the protests, saying free speech rights in Texas “does not include an AstroTurfed campsite for terrorist advocacy”.
“If you’re having trouble living within these simple boundaries, I encourage you to look at your other 49 options,” Little said.
Democrats, who have consistently failed to break the Republican lock on the state, said Abbott’s response to the protest was entirely about politics. Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement that this was “another egregious abuse of public funds for campaign advertisements at the expense of the safety of UT students.”
This year’s Democratic Senate candidate, Rep. Colin Allredsuggested state response to the UT protests was “too aggressive”. Outgoing GOP Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz comment on Allred’s comments as “explicitly attacking Texas law enforcement for protecting Jewish students at UT.”
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