Once administrators at Columbia University called the police about the students When we protested Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the Fox News crowd started fuming over teenagers being beaten or killed, you knew it was only a matter of time before someone ended up in the hospital. Unfortunately, this now appears to be the case, as someone reports drove their car into a crowd of demonstrators. The person the driver hit was later taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
According to reports from Talia JaneDuring a protest outside the home of a Columbia trustee, Reuven Kahane, a local real estate developer who is Jewish, first drove up to a group of protesters and asked for a flyer. Instead, when someone offered him one, he grabbed her arm and drove away. Next, Kahane drove his Volvo around the block, sometimes turning toward the sidewalk and then pointing his car at the protesters themselves.
An escalator at the end of the demonstration tried to get Kahane to wait, but he hit it with his car anyway. A second de-escalator then stood in front of his car to prevent him from driving into the crowd, but was later arrested. The first de-escalator called an ambulance because of a leg injury. Kahane was also arrested and the injured escalator operator was kept in hospital.
Independent journalist Marisa Kabas has since confirmed that Reuven Kahane was arrested by the NYPD. He is currently charged with second-degree assault. Kabas also confirmed that the escalator he hit was a 55-year-old woman who is currently charged with criminal mischief and unlawful assembly, while the de-escalator who was sitting outside Kahane’s car has been charged with criminal mischief . The security/de-escalation team reportedly consisted entirely of non-student volunteers.
Jane also claims to have seen a video in which the commanding officer calls the student protesters “fucking idiots” and says, “As an adult, there are consequences,” as if it was somehow her fault that someone tried to mess with one to drive a car into their demonstration procession. To be clear, if you use your car to intentionally hurt people, you are a bad person. No amount of harassment or personal inconvenience justifies using a deadly weapon to attack a group of protesters, cyclists, or anyone you don’t like.
[This is a breaking story, and we will update as more details emerge.]