Rep. Jamal Bowman (D.N.Y.) said Thursday’s arrest of the daughter of fellow “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar during an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University comes after the same lawmaker was arrested the day before. They claimed it was political retaliation for pursuing the agency’s leadership.
Bowman said Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, questioned Columbia’s leadership’s commitment to “academic freedom of expression” during a heated Congressional hearing Wednesday and said her daughter Ira Hirschi was arrested the next day. Ta.
“The day after @IlhanMN questioned Columbia leadership’s commitment to academic freedom of expression, the school suspended her daughter?” Bowman told X, “What’s going on here? It’s clear: our educational institutions should not engage in political retaliation.”
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Isra Hirsi smiles and waves as she leaves 1 Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Hirsi, daughter of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, was arrested during an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University. (Jennifer Mitchell, FOX News Digital)
Hirschi was taken into custody by New York City police, where he was placed in cuffs and zip ties, and will be charged with trespassing, officials said.
She was among more than 100 people issued citations for trespassing, New York City police said.
Hirschi, an organizer with Columbia University’s apartheid divest group, was released from NYPD headquarters hours later. A Fox News Digital photo showed Hirschi smiling and waving as she left NYPD Headquarters 1 Police Plaza in lower Manhattan.
Earlier in the day, Hirschi announced she had been suspended from Barnard College near Columbia for “expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people in the face of genocide.”
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Rep. Jamal Bowman (right) claimed that Thursday’s arrest of the daughter of fellow “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar was politically motivated. Omar is pictured on the left, and her daughter Isla Hills is pictured in the center. (Getty | YouTube/Screenshot-Brower Youth Awards)
According to the New York Post, Barnard College is one of four departments at Columbia University with an independent admissions process, curriculum, and financial structure, as well as an independent administrative department.
“There is no threat to us in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” she wrote to X. [sic] Demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency in @Columbia’s investments, and full amnesty for all students facing repression. ”
Dozens of anti-Israel activists began a protest at Columbia University on Wednesday morning, setting up camp on the main lawn to protest Israel’s war against Hamas. The intifada and violent protests calling for the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued through the night.
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Ira Hirschi leaves Lower Manhattan’s 1 Police Plaza on Thursday. The daughter of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has been arrested during an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University. (Jennifer Mitchell, FOX News Digital)
On Wednesday, Omar questioned Columbia University administrators about anti-Israel activities on the Ivy League campus during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.
During the hearing, Omar sounded the alarm about what she called an “attack” with “toxic chemicals” at an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University. However, according to court documents, the substances were non-toxic flatulence sprays called “Liquid A-” and “Wet Farts.”
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
