Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Daughter Arrested, Suspended From College
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) daughter, Isra Hirsi, was reportedly arrested on Thursday for participating in fiery anti-Israel protests that day. According to sources at the New York Police Department, Hirsi was put into flex cuffs or zip ties and put into custody having been given a summons for trespassing alongside over 100 people.
She will be facing trespassing charges, according to NYPD sources. However, she has been released from NYPD custody.
News of Hirsi’s arrest comes after she revealed that she had been suspended from Barnard College for her protests at its partner school, Columbia University.
“I’m an organizer with CU Apartheid Divest @ColumbiaSJP, in my 3 years at @BarnardCollege i have never been reprimanded or received any disciplinary warnings. I just received notice that i am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide,” she stated.
i’m an organizer with CU Apartheid Divest @ColumbiaSJP, in my 3 years at @BarnardCollege i have never been reprimanded or received any disciplinary warnings
i just received notice that i am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.
— isra hirsi (@israhirsi) April 18, 2024
The congresswoman’s daughter made another tweet admitting that she played a role in the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” in which protesters lay tents around parts of the university’s campus, violating school rules.
However, she did not acknowledge her violation, as she said, “Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. We will stand resolute until our demands are met. our demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression.”
those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. we will stand resolute until our demands are met.
our demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression
— isra hirsi (@israhirsi) April 18, 2024
Barnard College is resolute in its suspension of students, as it released a statement confirming the news and threatening to suspend even more if they refuse to leave the school campus.
“This morning, April 18, we started to place identified Barnard students remaining in the encampment on interim suspension, and we will continue to do so. We have temporarily restricted access to certain outdoor spaces on our campus,” a senior staff at the college said.
Dozens of anti-Israel protesters created an encampment at Columbia University’s main lawn on Wednesday morning to air their grievances against Israel amid its war against Hamas. The protests, in which calls for an intifada as well as the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were made, dragged on into the overnight hours.
While it is unclear whether Omar was aware of her daughter’s participation in the protests at the time, she tweeted in support of students who were being threatened with suspension and arrest on Wednesday.
Expressing hopes that the students would not be “criminalized,” she wrote, “Columbia has always had an incredible history of students fighting for a more just world and it’s good to see that tradition continue. As NYPD surrounds young activists, I hope their concerns are heard by school administrators and they not be criminalized. In solidarity.”
Columbia has always had an incredible history of students fighting for a more just world and it’s good to see that tradition continue. As NYPD surrounds young activists, I hope their concerns are heard by school administrators and they not be criminalized. In solidarity ✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/UV8k3xltKT
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 17, 2024
