National Guard was not deployed to pro-Palestine protests at UT

Pro-Palestine protests have erupted at university campuses across the U.S. in connection with the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. 

According to the Hamas-led Ministry of Health, at least 34,356 people have died in Gaza. Over 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, according to estimates from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

As the death toll in Gaza continues to climb, protesters at universities in the U.S. are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say are enabling the conflict. 

More than 50 protesters at the University of Texas at Austin were arrested during the demonstrations. Video shared online from the protests shows a heavy police presence, with some officers riding horseback. Several viral posts claim the videos show the National Guard being deployed to the campus. 

“We send the national guard for kids protesting at college but not the open border?” one X post with 846,000 views says. Another post says, “Texas University demonstration confronting National Guard.”

Was the National Guard deployed to pro-Palestine protests at the University of Texas?

No, the National Guard was not deployed to pro-Palestine protests at the University of Texas.

The National Guard was not deployed to the pro-Palestine protests at the University of Texas. In the videos being shared with the false claims, Texas State troopers can be seen marching or on horseback, but there are no members of the military present.

“While the Texas National Guard was aware and prepared to respond to the protests at UT yesterday, no Soldiers were dispatched to the campus during the event,” the Texas Military Department, which oversees the state’s National Guard, wrote in a statement to the Associated Press. “[Texas Department of Public Safety] and law enforcement partners did not require assistance.”

Brian Davis, a spokesperson for UT-Austin, told the AP “the National Guard rumor is not true.”

KVUE, a VERIFY partner station, had reporters on the ground during the protests. The uniforms worn in the photos taken by KVUE that show Texas troopers match the uniforms the troopers are wearing in the videos being shared with the false claims. 

The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement that troopers arrived on the campus on April 24 at the request of University of Texas officials and at the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, “in order to prevent any unlawful assembly and to support UT Police in maintaining the peace by arresting anyone engaging in any sort of criminal activity, including criminal trespass.”

VERIFY reached out to Texas DPS, the Texas Military Department, the University of Texas and Abbott’s office for comment on the claims, but did not hear back at the time of publication.