A former UC San Diego graduate student who was arrested in May 2024 along with dozens of others when authorities cracked down on a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on campus filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Friday alleging that the university and sheriff’s personnel at the county’s Las Colinas women’s jail violated her constitutional rights.
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Emily Lucas, who was working on her master’s thesis at the time and has since graduated, alleged in her lawsuit that her arrest was unlawful because she was a volunteer medic who did not participate in any protest activity.
Lucas also alleged that once in custody, she was denied medical care and faced unconstitutionally inhumane conditions, so much so that she contracted hepatitis A at the Santee women’s jail. And she alleged that in the months that followed, UCSD violated her due process rights by not allowing her a full and robust defense during disciplinary proceedings.
“This case is about accountability at every level — on the ground, in our jails, and within institutional systems that are supposed to honor constitutional rights and ensure fairness,” Geneviéve Jones-Wright, one of her attorneys, said in a statement. “What our client endured reflects a broader failure to protect basic constitutional rights, even in moments of heightened public expression.”
A spokesperson for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said the office could not comment on pending litigation. UC San Diego also declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
“While UC San Diego is unable to comment on pending litigation, dialogue, free speech and academic freedom are cornerstones of our university,” UCSD said in a statement. “We fully support the right to peacefully protest and express views on campus. Per the University of California guidelines on determining disciplinary action, all members of the UC community remain subject to all applicable laws and relevant codes of conduct.”
The events at the heart of the lawsuit were set in motion May 1, 2024, when pro-Palestinian student activists established the encampment near Geisel Library. Such encampments had popped up that spring on college campuses nationwide as students protested Israel’s U.S.-backed war in Gaza. Within a few days, the UCSD encampment grew to about 50 tents, drawing condemnation from Chancellor Pradeep Khosla.
Early in the morning on May 6, police in riot gear encircled the encampment and ordered everyone to clear out, arresting 64 individuals who stayed. The university said at the time that the action involved about 200 officers and deputies from the campus police department, the California Highway Patrol and the sheriff’s department.
According to her lawsuit, Lucas had become certified as a wilderness first responder in 2018, began volunteering as a medic during street protests in 2020 and had volunteered as a medic at the UCSD encampment on multiple occasions before it was broken up May 6. The suit alleged that she never stayed at the encampment overnight, did not participate in protest activities and wore clothing and accessories clearly signifying her role.
The suit alleged that she was not initially present at the encampment on May 6, but she hurried there when she received word of the law enforcement presence. She alleged that when she announced herself as a medic to a “line of riot officers,” they let her pass through.
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“Plaintiff reasonably understood from law enforcement’s conduct that she was permitted to enter and remain in the encampment area in her capacity as a medic,” the lawsuit alleged. “At all times, Plaintiff’s conduct was consistent with that of a non-threatening medical provider, and she took steps to ensure that law enforcement could observe that she was not engaged in protest activity.”
Lucas was arrested anyway when police moved in to break up the protest, according to her lawsuit.
“Law enforcement did not conduct any individualized assessment of Plaintiff’s conduct prior to arresting her and instead arrested her based solely on her presence in the encampment area,” the suit alleged. “Although Plaintiff did not resist arrest in any way, the arresting officers had zip-tied Plaintiff’s hands so tightly that it cut off blood flow.”
Lucas alleged that once taken to Las Colinas, jail staff deprived her of her prescription medications, causing her to become sick.
The suit alleged that Lucas suffered medical issues for months after her release from jail, and in August, more than three months later, she was diagnosed with hepatitis A.
“Plaintiff is informed and believes that she contracted Hepatitis A at the Las Colinas Detention Facility,” the suit alleged, noting that she was particularly susceptible because of a pre-existing liver ailment. “Plaintiff was sick with Hepatitis A until approximately September of 2024 and continues to suffer harm as it has had lasting impacts on her liver.”
The suit alleged that Lucas also “suffered months of targeted harassment by the UCSD administration” in connection with disciplinary proceedings. The suit alleged that the disciplinary proceedings amounted to a “quasi-criminal” prosecution, and therefore her rights were violated by not being read her Miranda rights, not being able to present evidence in her defense and not being able to have an attorney argue on her behalf.
Kylee Belanger, another attorney representing Lucas in her civil suit, said criminal prosecutors were monitoring the disciplinary proceedings and that Lucas would have been opening herself up to potential criminal prosecution if she had defended herself. Belanger argued that’s why Lucas can allege her 14th Amendment due-process rights were violated in the university disciplinary proceedings.
The City Attorney’s Office announced in October 2024 that none of the 64 individuals arrested at the protest would face criminal charges. But UCSD has continued disciplining students and staff for their alleged involvement up until as recently as last month, when two professors learned they are facing disciplinary action.
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