UCLA antisemitism task force says the university prioritized free speech over stopping protests, which were among the most violent of the pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations

My sympathies are not with the protestors, but it is important to note that UCLA (and University of Washington) probably have to prioritize free speech over stopping protests.

Unlike private schools like Columbia, these are public schools. They are government actors. They can't censor students' speech in general, even when that speech is hateful.

They can adopt content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions on student speech and protests - but they can't just step in and stop protests just because they don't like the content of the protests, even if the content is terrible. Even if the groups involved and the content is linked to violence, but does not meet the Brandenberg standard. From the SCOTUS decision of Healy v. James:

Yet the precedents of this Court leave no room for the view that, because of the acknowledged need for order, First Amendment protections should apply with less force on college campuses than in the community at large. Quite to the contrary, "[t]he vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools." Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U. S. 479, 364 U. S. 487 (1960). The college classroom, with its surrounding environs, is peculiarly the "marketplace of ideas,'" and we break no new constitutional ground in reaffirming this Nation's dedication to safeguarding academic Page freedom. Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 385 U. S. 589, 385 U. S. 603 (1967); Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 U. S. 234, 354 U. S. 249-250 (1957) (plurality opinion of Mr. Chief Justice Warren), 262 (Frankfurter, J., concurring in result).

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/16...

I find the more extreme campus protests odious, and some of the messaging to be horrible. But state schools are very limited in their ability to prevent students from speaking based on the content of their speech.