Northwestern University police arrested and charged four educators for allegedly obstructing law enforcement at the Palestinian solidarity encampment on the Evanston campus in late April.
The misdemeanor charges come months after the encampment was dismantled through an agreement between protesters and university leaders.
“It's a pretty mind-blowing experience to have your employer send their own police after you to arrest you within your place of employment,” said Alithia Zamantakis, an assistant professor at Northwestern’s Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing — and one of the faculty members facing charges.
University spokesperson Jon Yates defended the arrests.
“While the University permits peaceful demonstrations, it does not permit activity that disrupts University operations, violates the law, or includes the intimidation or harassment of members of the community,” Yates said in an email.
Yates said the university would not discuss individual cases. The charges have been filed with the Cook County State’s Attorney. A representative from that office said they could not comment on pending litigation.
Members of the campus chapter of Educators for Justice in Palestine said the four individuals arrested and released by campus police earlier this month include two professors, a graduate worker and a librarian.
Steven Thrasher, an assistant professor of journalism at Northwestern University, speaks to a reporter at Northwestern University’s Deering Meadow where students and professors set up an encampment in support of Palestinians on April 25, 2024. Thrasher is one of four university educators now facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly obstructing police during the encampment.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Yates said they face Class A misdemeanor charges, which carry a sentence of up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
“The job of any faculty member … is to support the ongoing development of research and learning on this campus. And … it felt like I was being told that this is not a place of education, but a place where people should listen and follow orders,” Zamantakis said.
The university did not provide details about the incident that prompted the arrests.
Josh Honn, a librarian at Northwestern who is also facing charges, said they stem from the first day of the encampment, on April 25, when faculty members and other staff formed a defensive line between student organizers and campus police.
Honn said he was knocked down by a police officer during the confrontation, which he said ended when law enforcement pulled back.
“I wanted to go out and support the students, defend their rights, support them, exercise my academic freedom and, most importantly, to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people,” Honn said. “I hope the charges are dropped … I don’t think we did anything wrong.”
Citations against the educators list April 25 as the date of the alleged offenses. Honn said his next hearing in the case will take place on August 15.
Honn and Zamantakis said two weeks ago they received calls from Northwestern police officers asking them to come into the station to fill out paperwork. They said the officers refused to share more details, citing privacy concerns, but also said neither was legally obligated to comply.
“The next day, when [campus police] showed up at my office space, they just used their keycard to just come right in. They didn't knock or anything, and then detained me in the room,” Honn said. “So, ‘paperwork’ equaled being arrested.”
Yates, the Northwestern spokesperson, and Northwestern University Police declined to share the arrest records of the four individuals or to comment on the timing of the charges.
“It has the appearance that Northwestern waited over two months to make these arrests and file these charges under the cover of summer when students aren't here, people aren't paying attention as much,” Honn said. “The timing makes it seem like Northwestern wants to take action but not have any accountability for their actions.”
Rebecca Zorach, an art history professor at the university, believes the decision and when it was carried out may have resulted from mounting pressure from trustees, donors and members of Congress on Northwestern administrators to punish faculty and students involved in the encampment.
“There are a lot of people who were kind of screaming for blood, who were saying, ‘You need a more heavy handed approach than what you took,’” said Zorach, who serves on the executive committee of Northwestern’s Faculty Senate. “And maybe this is an effort to kind of quietly placate some of those folks.”
At a hearing in May, a Republican-led Congressional committee blasted Northwestern President Michael Schill for making a deal with pro-Palestinian organizers of the encampment.
The agreement was praised by many faculty and higher education leaders as a model for negotiating with student protestors and fostering free speech on campus. But three Jewish organizations have called for Schill’s resignation.
Regardless of the university’s motivations, the arrests are an attack on the civil liberties of faculty, Zorach said.
“I don’t think they should be allowed to proceed quietly,” Zorach said. “From my perspective as a faculty member, I think it's really important that campuses remain a place where there's vibrant political expression and where we know disagreement with the status quo doesn't lead to disciplinary proceedings.”
Lisa Kurian Philip covers higher education for WBEZ, in partnership with Open Campus. Follow her on Twitter @LAPhilip.
