Democratic governor signs bipartisan bill banning pro-Hamas encampments on school grounds

Democrat Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed off on a ban Wednesday that outlaws protest encampments on college campuses.

State House Bill 2880, bipartisan-sponsored legislation that received support and pushback from both sides of the political aisle, amends Arizona’s free expression policy relating to college and university governing boards to include a prohibition on encampments and unlawful assembly. Anyone who violates this policy is “liable for all damages” relating to the encampment, including removal fees, and is subject to criminal trespass charges.

The bill passed 18-10 in the state senate with three Democrats nodding approval and nine opposing alongside one Republican. In the House, the bill split the Democratic party down the middle, with 13 voting in support alongside 28 Republicans while 13 Democrats votied against the measure along with four Republicans, passing by a margin of 41-17.

The state’s free expression policy already requires institutions of higher education to assert that “The primary function of an institution of higher education is the discovery, improvement, transmission and dissemination of knowledge by means of research, teaching, discussion and debate,” and “strive to ensure the fullest degree of intellectual freedom and free expression.”

Many college campuses across the country were overtaken by pro-Hamas encampments since the start of the Israel-Hamas War in 2023. At schools like Columbia and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), these protests and encampments interrupted students’ abilities to attend classes and access parts of campus, with UCLA students even instituting a “Jew exclusion zone.”

The Trump administration has been attempting to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses and restore their purpose back to educating students. In March, the Department of Education (ED) sent letters to 60 institutions warning them that they are bound by civil rights laws and must protect students from discrimination and violence after reports found many schools failed to institute any meaningful punishment to students involved in the campus chaos. Many schools are beginning to reverse track after the administration instituted mass funding cuts to noncompliant universities.

Hobbs’ office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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