Formerly an administrator at Columbia University Call the police to arrest the student protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and the Fox News crowd starts foaming at the mouth over teenagers being beaten or killed, you know it’s only a matter of time before someone ends up in the hospital. Sadly, that seems to be the case now, as someone has reported drove their car into the crowd of protesters. The person hit by the driver was then taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
As reported by Talia Jane, Jewish, during a protest outside the home of a Columbia trustee, Reuven Kahane, a local real estate developer, initially drove up to a group of protesters and asked a flyer. When someone offered one to him, he instead grabbed their arm and drove off. Next, Kahane drove his Volvo around the block, sometimes toward the sidewalk, then aimed his car at the protesters themselves.
A person coming down an escalator at the back of the march tried to make Kahane wait, but he hit her with his car anyway. The second person getting off the escalator then sat in front of his car to prevent him from driving into the crowd, but was later arrested. The person who first got off the escalator called an ambulance because of her leg injury. Kahane was also arrested, and the injured person going down the escalator was detained at the hospital.
Independent journalist Marisa Kabas it has since been confirmed that Reuven Kahane was arrested by the NYPD. He is currently charged with second-degree assault, a felony. Kabas also confirmed that the person going down the escalator he hit was a 55-year-old woman, who is currently charged with criminal vandalism and unlawful assembly, while the person going down the escalator sitting in front of Kahane’s car was arrested. was charged with criminal vandalism. The safety/de-escalation team is supposed to be comprised entirely of non-student volunteers.
Jane also claimed to have seen video of the commanding officer calling the protesting students “idiots” and saying, “adults will suffer the consequences,” as if it was their fault someone tried to drive cars into their march. Take note: If you use your car to intentionally hurt others, you are a bad person. No level of personal discomfort or inconvenience can justify using a deadly weapon to attack a group of protesters, cyclists, or anyone else you don’t like.
[This is a breaking story, and we will update as more details emerge.]
