Last week, a 26-year-old San Marcos man is facing felony charges after being arrested for carrying a gun at a University of Texas Austin protest, local reports stated. Michael Maule was charged with a third-degree felony for bringing the weapon onto campus during an April 29 rally. According to the Austin Police Department, Maule was found with a Taurus G3C .40 caliber pistol in his waistband, two loaded magazines, a pocket knife, and one bullet in the chamber, as reported by KVUE.
Maule, who reportedly did not have the required License to Carry for firearm possession at a public university in Texas, was taken into custody. Alongside Maule, another armed individual was detained, but his status remains unreported. This event was part of a larger series of protests at UT Austin, which have led to nearly 80 arrests, with charges ranging from criminal trespassing to obstructing a highway or passageway, as per KVUE.
The persistent protests at the university have not only spotlighted the divisive issue of gun control on campus but have also come to exert a "tremendous strain on our criminal justice resources," according to KVUE. As the legal system grapples with the influx of cases stemming from the demonstrations, questions about the protesters' adherence to university laws persist. UT cited 11 "known violations of Institutional Rules" from the April 24 and 29 protests but refrained from further details or releasing any photos of the weapons present.
The university's Board of Regents has supported law enforcement's intervention in these matters, with Chairman Kevin Eltife stating, "Many have questioned the use of law enforcement from outside agencies. To be clear, no president in the UT system made those decisions on their own. The chancellor and I and this board are always involved in those decisions. They were the right decision, and we will do it again, if needed," as stated by KXAN.
