Anti-Israel protestors at Pitt who allegedly injured police officers to face trial for assault, obstruction of justice charges

Two anti-Israel protesters who participated in a demonstration at the University of Pittsburgh will be tried for charges including aggravated assault and obstruction of justice.

The decision was made by Judge Xander Orenstein on Monday after a preliminary hearing. During the hearing, five police officers from the university’s campus police testified.

The two anti-Israel demonstrators who will now face charges are Muhammed Ali and Cole Florkewicz. The charges include aggravated assault, obstruction of justice, and riot, among others. The two defendants’ court date is on Oct. 11. 

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The charges are related to an anti-Israel camp that activists against the Jewish state had set up this June. The protesters at the time had called on the university to “[i]mmediately terminate Pitt’s Chapter of Hillel [a Jewish student group]” and “Remove the IHRA definition of antisemitism from the DEI website to avoid the false and defamatory conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism.”

The encampment lasted two days, during which time protestors committed several acts of vandalism, including spraying “antisemitic graffiti” onto the facade of the Frick Fine Arts Building, according to a statement from school chancellor Joan Gabel. 

“Following two days of demonstrations, protestors voluntarily left the encampment Tuesday morning,” the University of Pittsburgh announced at the time. “The mayor’s office, in close coordination with University leadership and public safety teams from the University of Pittsburgh, City of Pittsburgh Police, Allegheny County Sheriff’s office, and Pennsylvania State Police led negotiations with protestors who were largely unaffiliated with the University.”

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The two defendants, Ali and Florkewicz, also got into a physical struggle with one of the police officers, leaving her bruised and injured, according to her testimony. Other officers involved also stated that protesters attacked and physically hurt them. 

The June encampment was not the only anti-Israel student demonstration in Pittsburgh this summer. This July, anti-Israel activists from the University of Pittsburgh demonstrated outside of Gabel’s home, demanding that the school divest from ties to the Jewish state. The protest’s organizers told participants to “mask up” to avoid being recognized. 

Campus Reform has contacted the University of Pittsburgh for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.