Foxx says Harvard obstructed investigation into alleged attack at pro-Palestinian demonstration | News

Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Elise M. Stefanik '06 (R-N.Y.) accused Harvard of “willfully obstructing” a criminal investigation into the alleged physical attack on a Jewish student during a pro-Palestinian demonstration last year at Harvard Business School.

Foxx and Stefanik, two leading Republicans in the House of Representatives who have led the charge in Congress against Harvard over its handling of anti-Semitism on campus, sharply attacked university President Alan M. Garber (class of 1976) in a letter Wednesday for allegedly not cooperating with his administration's investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

Elom Tettey-Tamoklo and Ibrahim I. Bharmal, two Harvard students, were each charged with two counts of assault in May for their role in a confrontation with a Jewish first-year HBS student during the “die-in” protest at the business school on October 18, 2023.

After the HBS student began filming the faces of the protesters participating in the die-in, Tettey-Tamoklo and Bharmal made physical contact with the HBS student by holding up high-visibility vests and keffiyehs – a traditional Palestinian headscarf – to prevent the student from filming.

A video of the incident went viral, and a number of politicians and prominent Harvard alumni cited the confrontation as an example of the university's alleged failure to combat anti-Semitism on campus.

Tettey-Tamoklo and Bharmal were scheduled to appear twice before Brighton District Court for arraignment, but the date was postponed both times because prosecutors said they needed more information from the Harvard University Police Department for a more thorough investigation.

“In all our years of public service, we have never encountered a situation in which a law enforcement agency has explicitly refused to cooperate with a prosecutor's investigation – much less done so in such an open and brazen manner,” Foxx and Stefanik wrote.

University spokesman Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement: “Harvard values ​​our partnership with the Suffolk District Attorney's Office.”

“The university has made it clear that we are prepared to continue to support the DA if needed,” Newton added. “There are currently no outstanding requests from the university to the DA.”

HUPD turned over all investigative materials on March 8 and provided additional footage of the incident and other details.

But during the Sept. 5 arraignment, District Attorney Urusula Knight said she expects HUPD will continue to investigate other people who attended the die-in protest.

“Harvard is protecting those who physically attacked a Jewish student on Harvard’s campus by blocking a prosecutor from pursuing the state’s investigation,” the representatives wrote.

The graduate students are expected to appear in court again on October 22, where they will plead guilty to the assault charges and enter a plea.

Before that date, however, Foxx and Stefanik demanded that Harvard provide the House Committee on Education and the Workforce with the university's internal documents related to the case, including all communications related to the investigation.

Foxx and Stefanik asked Garber to comply with the committee's request for internal documents and communications by Sept. 30. The request came as the committee continues its investigation into Harvard's handling of anti-Semitism on campus.

Stefanik had previously criticized the university in an April letter for delaying justice and allowing Tettey-Tamoklo to graduate from Harvard Divinity School without disciplinary action. The university had relieved Tettey-Tamoklo of his role as a proctor in Thayer Hall in November 2023 following the incident at HBS.

“Harvard's recent policy of obstruction makes it clear that the university considers protecting anti-Semites on its campus more important than providing a safe learning environment for all of its students,” Foxx and Stefanik wrote. “This decision is unacceptable, and Harvard must make its decisions and reasons for its lack of cooperation public.”

Newton wrote: “Harvard remains committed to fighting anti-Semitism and we will continue our work to ensure that every student feels a sense of belonging in our campus community.”

—Editor Sally E. Edwards can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or in threads @sally_edwards06.