University of Chicago student arrested for ‘shoving,’ ‘kicking,’ ‘striking’ police officer during anti-Israel protest
The student in question violently assaulted a police officer during the protest.
The protest organizers called the police officers who intervened to control the demonstration ‘agents of brutality.’
A University of Chicago anti-Israel protest resulted in the arrest of a student who assaulted a Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer.
Manuel Rivera, the student in question, participated in an Oct. 11 protest. One of the CPD officers who tried to keep the disruptive protest under control said he felt Rivera “shove him, kick him in the legs, and strike him with an open hand to the left side of the face,” according to The Chicago Maroon.
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Rivera’s conduct led to him facing an aggravated battery charge, meaning he could potentially spend between three and seven years behind bars.
An unidentified woman tried to help Rivera as he was being arrested, assaulting another officer who tried to restore order.
The protest, which was hosted by the anti-Israel group UChicago United for Palestine, reportedly attracted hundreds of demonstrators. The activists blocked entry to the university, defaced a sculpture on campus, and damaged police cars.
Following the event, UChicago United for Palestine issued a statement condemning the police’s actions, saying they marked a “drastic escalation of police violence.” They defended the protesters’ disruptive actions and maligned the University of Chicago’s police officers as “the university’s agents of brutality.”
The rally took place after the University of Chicago updated its policies to specifically ban tent encampments in order to limit further chaotic anti-Israel protests breaking out on campus.
The University of Chicago has seen several other controversies related to anti-Israel protesters’ activities.
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During the school’s anti-Israel encampment, protesters invited Sami Al Arian, a man who was deported after it was revealed he worked with the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In August, five University of Chicago students were allowed to get their diplomas, despite their previous participation in the school’s unauthorized tent encampment.
On July 22, the school’s graduate student union was sued for forcing students–even non-union members–to pay union dues, which go towards “funding antisemitism,” according to the lawsuit.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Chicago for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.