A group of UNM students, many of whom are members of (un)Occupy Albuquerque were physically assaulted after they protested during a lecture Thursday night.
The group “mic checked” Nonie Darwish, author, human rights activist and daughter of Egyptian Army Leader Lieutenant General Mustafa Hafez while she was speaking on Israel’s involvement in the Arab Spring Movement. According to a statement from (un)Occupy, the group used “mic-checking” as a nonviolent tactic to voice their concerns about what they called the “Islamophobic content of Darwish’s talk.”
In a video released by (un)Occupy, protesters can be seen interrupting Darwish and yelling, “Mic check, Nonie Darwish speaks for Israeli apartheid…and genocide at the hands of the (Israeli army).”
In the video, several students are pushed and shoved by members of the audience who begin shouting at the protesters telling them to leave.
UNMPD Operations Lieutenant Trace Peck said the group filed a police report that is currently under investigation.
Members of (un)Occupy and the UNM Israel Alliance, the group who hosted the event, were unreachable for comment Friday.
More on this story as it develops.
See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaYIYa54CSA&feature=g-logo&context=G2e1f9dfFOAAAAAAAcAA
