The protest occurred outside of Rutgers Hillel on the College Avenue Campus in opposition to a roundtable event featuring Congressman Josh Gottheimer
A Cranford man and three Rutgers University students were arrested Tuesday at a protest on the New Brunswick campus during an event attended by Congressman Josh Gottheimer , authorities said. The Rutgers Police Department had a designated protest area outside of Rutgers Hillel on the College Avenue Campus to allow for a peaceful demonstration while maintaining campus and public safety and access in the area of the facility, according to a statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Gottheimer was featured at a roundtable event at the facility “to speak with students about the alarming rise in antisemitism on college campuses across the country,”Four of the protestors refused repeated requests from the Rutgers University Police Department to clear the public sidewalk, authorities said. An attempt was made to de-escalate the situation, but the group did not comply and continued to block access, investigators said. Officers from the Rutgers Police Department then formed a protective line to ensure safety and attempt to restore access, officials said. Several people attempted to breach the line which caused officers to declare that the assembly was unlawful and the protestors were ordered to disperse, the office said. Four of the protestors, including Thomas Whitehead, 25, of Cranford, breached the protest line while the dispersal order was being given and they were all arrested, authorities said. Whitehead is not affiliated with the university but the three other protestors accused of breaching the line are three female students, ages 21, 23 and 24, investigators said. He was charged with aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer, riot, and resisting arrest, authorities said. The 21-year-old student faces lesser charges of riot and resisting arrest and the other students were charged with riot, the office said. Whitehead is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center until his pretrial detention hearing scheduled for May 6. “The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office along with the Rutgers University Police Department value free speech and support peaceful protests,” the agencies said in a statement “However, the pursuit of these Constitutional Rights cannot interfere with Rutgers operations or deleteriously impact public safety,” they added. Gottheimer said in a statement that he “always welcomes a debate on the issue, even when I disagree.” “But there’s absolutely no room for violence, especially against law enforcement, who are there to protect all of us,” Gottheimer said., which gave Rutgers a grade of D for combating antisemitism on campus, his office said. The report documented nearly 300 reports of antisemitic discrimination at Rutgers between 2023 and 2024. Anyone with additional information was asked to call Rutgers University Police Lt. Melvin Breton at 848-932-8025 or Sgt. Andrew Winter of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-4178.If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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