For more than a month now, people have been protesting the war in Gaza, with most of these protests have been on university campuses. I have had the opportunity to photograph these protests on two University of California campuses -- Davis and Berkeley.
While I am a staunch supporter of the First Amendment, many of these folks have taken it way beyond what is protected speech. Assault, battery, trespassing, burglary, vandalism, violating campus policies (disrupting graduations, disrupting classes, disrupting exam weeks, blocking bus stops, illegal camping, etc.) have crossed the line from protected speech to criminal activity.
While photographing the protest at UC Davis, I was hit with an umbrella, had many other umbrellas, hands, and other objects shoved in my face and in front of my camera. I had one "security" guard (who happened to be an unlicensed security guard) shine a bright light into my eyes. They tried to harass and intimidate me by following me in a public place. The whole ordeal has left me with a very negative view of these protesters. Most of them have covered their faces because they know they are committing crimes and violating campus rules. In short, they are ignorant cowards.
The website CANARY MISSION has created a database of many of these dangerous individuals. Click here to visit CANARY MISSION's searchable website.
Follow the link for more photos.
https://www.stevewindham.com/portfolio/photojournalism/gaza-protests/
