Sociology prof at UChicago arrested with anti-ICE protesters, charged with 2 counts of battery

A far-left professor at the University of Chicago who was involved in the Gaza encampment protests at the college in 2024 has now been arrested and charged with felonies connected to the riots at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the city.

Associate Professor Eman Abdelhadi works in the Department of Comparative Human Development and has worked in the sociology department at UChicago, but was arrested on October 3 during an anti-ICE riot and has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a government employee as well as resisting/obstructing the peace, according to a report from Fox News.

After her initial appearance in court on Saturday, Abdelhadi was released from custody. She has her next hearing set for Tuesday. Authorities have said that Abdelhadi was involved in the riots that have been going on for weeks outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois. Many agitators have attempted to stop ICE vehicles from moving to and from the building, and there have been a number of confrontations that have led to arrests taking place.

The far-left professor has taught in the Department of Human Development as well as in the Department of Sociology at the university, per her CV. According to posts from her X account, Abdelhadi was heavily involved in the Gaza camp protest at UChicago last year.

When the UChicago president signaled that he would be putting an end to the encampment, Abdelhadi claimed that the "university is laying the groundwork for brutalizing our students."

In another post, she claimed that the encampment, which saw face-offs between police as well as agitators, was "peaceful."

The day before she was arrested, the far-left professor had appeared on the "Movement Memos" podcast, which is linked to Truthout, a leftist publication.

"These people are terrorizing our communities and they’re setting up shop," she said in reference to ICE. "I mean, in Broadview, ICE has been setting up shop in our backyard. Just brazenly taking up community resources to terrorize this very same community. And so it felt really important to join protesters out there to say, not in our city, not in our name, not in our backyard."

Last year, the Abdelhadi also cursed out UChicago at an event called "Socialism 2025." A the event, the professor stated, '"F*ck the University of Chicago, it’s evil, you know it’s a colonial landlord. Like, why would I put any of my political energy into this space? I kind of had a little bit of disdain for people who spent their time doing that."

She later added, "Turns out, I work at one of the biggest employers in the city of Chicago. I work at a place that is a landlord, a healthcare provider, a police force, f*ck that sh*t, but, they are, and a place where I have access to thousands of people that I could potentially organize… actually, this is where I need to build power. That’s possible structural leverage."