Breaking News illustration. (Isabella Hammond/CU Independent)
University of Colorado Boulder police are investigating an incident involving pro-Palestine protesters who were physically removed from a classroom by two men after attempting to disrupt a class Wednesday evening.
In a video posted to social media, one man appears to grab a protester by their keffiyeh – a traditional Arab headdress – lift them up, and toss them around. According to the university, the man was not a student or CU employee, but rather serving as a “mentor” for the class.
The incident, which took place in the east wing of the CASE building, began when three pro-Palestine protesters entered a Designing for Defense class with the intention to interrupt the class and read a statement protesting the class’s connection to the Department of Defense.
In the Designing for Defense class, student teams work with mentors and industry sponsors to solve “real-world Department of Defense and Intelligence Community problems,” according to a Fall 2024 version of the course syllabus.
Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine had planned the demonstration as part of their “Week of Rage,” a scheduled series of events calling for the university to divest from its relationships with weapons manufacturers.
Around the class’s scheduled start time of 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, three protesters entered the classroom with their faces covered. In a video posted to the Buffs 4 Palestine Instagram, one protester, wearing a keffiyeh, is shown walking to the front of the room holding a piece of paper in their hand. Before the protester begins to read the statement, the class instructor tells them to get out and grabs the paper out of their hands. The instructor then walks toward another protester, who is recording, and repeatedly says “Get out!”
A second video clip, filmed outside of the classroom, shows a protester on the floor with the instructor and another man standing above them. The unidentified mentor holding a keffiyeh in his hands walks out of the classroom towards the person filming and says, “You want some too?”
The third video clip shown in the post shows the mentor outside of the classroom grabbing the keffiyeh of a protester on the ground, lifting them up and tossing them around in the hallway while a different protester yelled “Stop!”
CUPD was called to the building and is now investigating the incident.
A community member who was present in the CASE building at the time of the incident described the unidentified mentor’s behavior as “alarming” and “incredibly dangerous.”
The community member, who wishes to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, left because they felt “uncomfortable” being in the building with the two men involved without the presence of a police officer.
The university’s class search website lists Andrew Meyer as the class’s instructor.
Meyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, following the posting of Buffs 4 Palestine’s first video, the university published a statement about the incident.
“CU Boulder condemns acts of violence and does not tolerate classroom disruptions, both of which violate state law and university policies,” the statement reads. “Our campus has long supported our campus community’s right to free expression, so long as those activities are carried out legally and in line with university policy, and do not threaten public safety.”
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to contact CUPD at 303-492-6666 and reference case number 2025-0656.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
Contact CU Independent Managing Editor Celia Frazier at celia.frazier@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent News Editor Ainsley Coogan at ainsley.coogan@colorado.edu.
