(IntegrityTimes.com) – Pro-Hamas protesters in Ohio who had covered a wall in graffiti got a taste of their own medicine when an artist spray painted over them after they tried to block him from painting the wall.
Video footage of the incident, which occurred at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, went viral on social media. The caption of the video, which was shared on X and widely ridiculed by conservative commentators, described the incident as an “assault” on the protesters. Several commenting on the X post criticized the vandalism and praised the contractor, but a conservative op-ed reporting on the incident asked why the police did not step in to arrest the protesters for vandalism in the first place.
Recent protests against Israel’s government across the U.S. have seen numerous acts of vandalism. On May 6 protesters in Manhattan vandalized a WWI statue and burned the U.S. flag. On May 1 it was reported that students protesting at Columbia University, New York may face expulsion for occupying and vandalizing its Hamilton Hall. Activists reportedly broke doors and smashed windows during the protest. The CWRU President Eric Kaler issued an apology after the contractor spray painted the protesters.
The wall occupied by the activists is reportedly intended to be used by students for sharing information and advocating for causes. Protesters demanding among other things the university’s divestment from Tel Aviv had written messages on the wall such as “I dream of breaking the siege”. In his message Kaler said he was “disturbed” by what he saw in the video, which was originally posted by students. He said the campus should be a welcoming environment and that no students should be treated this way.
Kaler announced that the university would investigate and hold the contractors responsible, as well as the university’s own officers for failing to intervene in the incident. Police Chief Dorothy Todd and Democratic Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb released a statement saying that they supported First Amendment rights of students to express their views without worrying about “criminal interference”.
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