4 University of Rochester students arrested after ‘wanted’ posters targeting Jewish faculty

ROCHESTER, NY — Four students were arrested and charged after hundreds of posters depicting several Jewish faculty members as “wanted” were found online. University of Rochester campussaid school officials.

Several dozen University of Rochester students, faculty and supporters packed the courtroom Wednesday morning for the hearing of Samantha Escobar, Naomi Gutierrez, Jefferson Turcios and Jonathan Bermudez. There were four Arrested by the university’s Department of Public Safety They were held Tuesday in the Monroe County Jail awaiting trial.

The students were all charged with second-degree criminal mischief, according to court records. The charges stem from alleged damage to walls on campus.

University officials said they became aware of the posters on Nov. 10 and immediately began removing them. The posters were found in buildings across campus, including classroom areas, and damaged walls and other surfaces when removed, according to officials.

The criminal complaint makes no mention of the content of the posters, in which some faculty members are accused of being “wanted” for being complicit in the death and displacement of Gazans during the Israel-Hamas war. Smaller text on the posters has been accused of some links to racism, hate speech and war crimes.

Hillel, the University of Rochester’s Jewish campus organization, condemned the posters last week, saying they “disproportionately feature Jewish faculty and staff and use language that propagates harmful, antisemitic ideas about Jewish people.”

A different group, the student-run Jewish Voice for Peace, said the people depicted in the posters “appear to be bound together not by religion or ethnicity but by their support for Israel’s ongoing campaign in the Middle East.”

Four students dressed in overalls were brought in to confront Rochester City Court Judge Charles Crimi. The large group of supporters who filled the usually empty city courtroom watched silently as each pleaded not guilty and was released on their own recognizance.

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Four men charged with criminal mischief over ‘wanted’ posters

Second-degree criminal mischief, according to the four felony complaints, is when someone intentionally damages a person’s property without having any right or reasonable cause to believe that they have that right and when the damage to the property exceeds $1,500.

If convicted for the students, the charge could mean up to seven years in state prison in addition to a fine of up to $5,000. The four felony complaints accuse each student of placing the posters on blackboards, whiteboards and walls around campus on Nov. 10, resulting in damage to school property.

“The defendant and others participating in this crime were observed on CCTV deliberately spraying blackboards and whiteboards with an unknown substance in spray bottles, affixing these ‘Wanted’ posters to these boards, then spraying an unknown aerosolized substance onto the posters.” criminal complaint cases.

The complaint alleges that the posters were later found to have been attached with superglue or a “similarly strong and durable adhesive.” This adhesive damaged whiteboards, chalkboards, and walls during the removal process, resulting in the need to replace new boards, resurface, and paint damaged walls, the complaint states.

The counterweighted chalkboard system was also damaged and would need to be replaced, the complaint said. Replacement and repair costs for the damaged property exceed $6,000, but the total could likely be more once all sellers’ bids are secured, according to the felony complaint.

President: Defendant students face conduct review

The university’s Department of Public Safety announced on November 15: five people interested The “wanted” posters were identified in connection with the investigation.

On Tuesday, the university’s chief of public safety, Quchee Collins, said four students, later identified as Escobar, Gutierrez, Turcios and Bermudez, were arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief. A fifth person is still under investigation, Collins said in a news release.

Collins also said university investigators are looking at whether the case could be considered a possible hate crime at the state or federal level. Campus leadership, the local Jewish community, and US Senate Majority Leader Chuck SchumerHe condemned the posters as an act of antisemitism.

After investigations and interviews with state and federal law enforcement, Collins said that while the students’ actions were “targeted and biased,” they do not currently meet the legal threshold for a hate crime. That could change during future legal proceedings, he said.

University president Sarah Mangelsdorf said the school plans to hold those responsible accountable.

“In addition to the criminal justice process, the accused students will also go through the University’s administrative procedures,” Mangelsdorf said in a statement released Tuesday after the arrests. he said.

How do students and faculty react?

The University of Rochester is among many colleges across the country where tensions have risen following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Since then, campuses have seen a wave of tension. anti-war protestsand also an increase hateful events.

Pro-Palestinian student protesters accused university officials of censoring and punishing them for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. advocating liquidation from Israeli institutions. Last fall, students at many universities reported that administrators blocked peaceful protests by associating pro-Palestinian activism with support for Hamas.

University of Rochester faculty member Sandra Boehlert expressed how the situation created fear among professors on campus and the community.

“There’s a lot of fear in this country, we need to work together and help each other through that fear,” Boehlert said. he said. “What I know about the University of Rochester campus is that no one has ever expressed any thoughts of violence; from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s a peaceful place.”

Nora Goodman, a third-year undergraduate student who is Jewish, arrived at court carrying freshly baked challah, a ceremonial Jewish dish, and offered it to students as they left the courtroom. Goodman said the university’s response to the posters was unprecedented and extreme.

“These posters are not antisemitic, the majority of the people named on them are not Jewish,” Goodman said. “I think students are realizing how crazy this all is, how unprecedented the university’s response was, and how they blatantly lied in their emails.”

University of Rochester junior Sarah Lajitawi said she was there to support her friends.

“These are people I am very close to; They are hard-working students who care deeply about social justice, freedom and equality for all,” Lajitawi said in tears outside the courthouse.

Lajitawi is disheartened by the way the university handled the situation and describes how, in his view, its response perpetuates hate on campus and divides students.

“In my experience and the experience of my friends who have political views that support Palestine, when they face harassment, they do not get the support they need because of this, even because of my identity,” Lajitawi said. “I am Palestinian, I cannot turn this on and off; “This is who I am and that’s why I’m being attacked and there are no consequences.”

Rochester City Councilman Stanley Martin was there to show his support for the arrested students. “I don’t know what happens next for these students, but it’s absolutely ridiculous to see four young adults walking out in overalls.”

Martin explained that he was a college graduate and was disappointed in the institution.

“The University of Rochester chose to prioritize profits and the voices of those in power over students whose parents thought they would be safe on campus,” Martin said.

Note: The story has been republished with minor editing to ensure accurate representation of the identity of a person in this story.

Credits: Gary Craig and Kayla Canne; Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

This article first appeared in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: University of Rochester ‘wanted’ posters: 4 students charged