Dozens more protesters arrested as Mike Johnson suggests calling in national guard | First Thing

The Republican House speaker visited Columbia University as another 80 people arrested at colleges in Austin and LA. Plus, Arizona indicts Trump allies over ‘fake elector’ scheme

Good morning.

Dozens of people were arrested on Wednesday as college administrators continued to crack down on pro-Palestine demonstrations across US campuses, with the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, making an appearance at Columbia University in New York to decry protesters as “lawless agitators” and suggest the national guard could be deployed.

Where are the protests spreading? After Columbia University called in the New York police department on demonstrators last week, protests and encampments are growing at colleges across the country – including Harvard, UC Berkeley, Brown, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt and more.

What makes the demonstrations so charged? Protests against the US war in Vietnam rocked campuses in the 1960s and 70s, with national guard troops called in by universities opening fire at protesters at Jackson State and Kent State colleges in May 1970, killing several people. “We fear that Columbia is risking a second Jackson State or Kent State massacre,” Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said.

What did Johnson say? The House speaker visited Columbia on Wednesday, saying: “It’s detestable, as Columbia has allowed these lawless agitators and radicals to take over. … If this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the national guard.” Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called protesters “antisemitic mobs”.