‘Don’t Mess with Texas!’: Franklin Graham Praises Gov. Abbott’s Response to Anti-Israel Protesters at UT Austin

Rev. Franklin Graham on Thursday praised Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) for taking a hard stance against anti-Israel protesters gathered at the University of Texas at Austin.

“Don’t mess with Texas! Anti-Israel protests ramped up at The University of Texas at Austin with students yelling at the police ‘Pigs go home!’ and much more. It was chaos. Gov. Greg Abbott isn’t having it,” Graham wrote in a social media post.

“He is absolutely right when he said that students who join the ‘hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.’ Gov. Abbott posted: ‘These protesters belong in jail. Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period.’ Thank you Gov. Abbott for your strong leadership,” the reverend added:

Abbott on Wednesday shared video footage of the protesters as law enforcement officers walked among the sea of people. “Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses,” Abbott stated:

Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses.

These protesters belong in jail.

Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period.

Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled. https://t.co/XhLlQdvUl0

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 24, 2024

The Hundreds of Texas Department of Public Safety officers arrived at the scene on Wednesday to crack down on the pro-Hamas protesters, several of whom were reportedly arrested, as Breitbart News reported.

The protesters gathered to show solidarity with students at other major universities across America, noting the demonstration in Austin was organized by a group called the Palestine Solidarity Committee.

The Bob Price of Breitbart continued:

The action by the Texas DPS followed a notification from University of Texas officials that the protesters would not be allowed to occupy this campus as has been done at other universities. The UT officials warned the organizers to cancel the protest.

“Simply put, The University of Texas at Austin will not allow this campus to be ‘taken’ and protesters to derail our mission in ways that groups affiliated with your national organization have accomplished elsewhere,” the letter states.

The demonstration resulted in approximately 30 people being arrested after hundreds of students walked out of their classrooms to gather for the protest, Fox 4 reported on Wednesday.

It was further noted,  “Troopers were sent to the UT Austin campus today at the request of Gov. Abbott to assist with police and prevent any unlawful assembly.”

Meanwhile, other classes continued as the demonstration over the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group progressed:

Social media users shared their thoughts in response to Graham’s post, one person writing, “God Bless Gov. Abbott and Franklin Graham!”

“Every leader should take the stand that Gov. Greg Abbott did, hate for any reason is sin,” another commented.