Authorities arrested 18-year-old Edan On on Thursday for allegedly attacking a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) last month.
Police booked him on a felony charge and are holding him on $30,000 bail, according to UCLA Police and jail records.
The media first identified On and other counterprotesters by reviewing hundreds of hours of video, social media posts, and interviews.
“UCLA Police Department detectives conducted an investigation that included interviewing victims, speaking with witnesses, and reviewing security camera footage and publicly available videos from members of the public and the media,” the department stated to journalists.
UCLA Police confirmed On’s presence on the UCLA campus on April 30 and noted that video footage showed him assaulting encampment occupants with a wooden pole. Police arrested him in Beverly Hills.
Video footage captured On joining counterprotesters at the UCLA campus on April 30, where he waved a long white pole. At one point, he struck a pro-Palestinian protester with the pole and continued striking him even after the protester was down, while fellow counterprotesters piled on.
“The UCLA Police Department is committed to investigating all reported acts of violence and is actively working to identify other perpetrators of violence associated with any protest or counter-protest activities between April 25, 2024, and May 2, 2024,” the department added.
‘He is all over’
On’s mother, who told reporters that he is a senior at Beverly Hills High School, initially bragged about her son’s participation in the violent event in a now-deleted social media post, circling an image of him and writing, “he is all over the news channels.”
When showed a video of On attacking the protester, she claimed he was only defending himself. She later said On denied being at UCLA that night.
Beverly Hills High School, citing privacy concerns, neither confirmed nor denied On’s enrollment or his eligibility to participate in his graduation ceremony.
“Attending graduation is a privilege, and we expect our students to uphold the highest standards of behavior to participate in this significant milestone,” Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent Michael Bregy told the media.
