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      <title>How 51 Seconds at a Pro-Palestine Protest Could Send a
        Muslim Student to Prison for 34 years</title>
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src="https://eotrx.substackcdn.com/o/1e621704c5094f54/p.gif?token=eyJtIjoiPDIwMjYwNDEzMTU0ODE1LjMuZDEyMDAzMjVmN2ViZGIwMUBtZy1kMC5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20-IiwidSI6MzY3NTE1ODMsInIiOiJjbGF1ZGVAZnJlZWRvbWFyY2hpdmVzLm9yZyIsImQiOiJtZy1kMC5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20iLCJwIjoxOTM4MjkxMTAsInQiOiJuZXdzbGV0dGVyIiwiYSI6ImV2ZXJ5b25lIiwicyI6MjUxMDM0OCwiYyI6InBvc3QiLCJmIjp0cnVlLCJwb3NpdGlvbiI6InRvcCIsImlhdCI6MTc3NjA5NTM5NywiZXhwIjoxNzc4Njg3Mzk3LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMCIsInN1YiI6ImVvIn0.Li268Pg1mbnbMrEuDcxJTfI4SaHxvSWRe4gMKsQv_qc"
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style="display:none;font-size:1px;color:#333333;line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;">Former
        University of Pittsburgh student Muhammad Ali faces three
        felonies for a brief tug-of-war with an officer over a metal
        barrier.</div>
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href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&amp;post_id=193829110&amp;utm_source=post-email-title&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=lvppb&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTkzODI5MTEwLCJpYXQiOjE3NzYwOTUzOTcsImV4cCI6MTc3ODY4NzM5NywiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.OzCi4hGqsplvqjtMnAHfgEILlOIECJA93G1rRhgDiTk"
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                        Pro-Palestine Protest Could Send a Muslim
                        Student to Prison for 34 years</a></h1>
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style="direction: auto;text-align: start;unicode-bidi: isolate;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: normal;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 4px 0 0;color: #777777;line-height: 24px;font-size: 18px;margin-top: 12px;">Former
                      University of Pittsburgh student Muhammad Ali
                      faces three felonies for a brief tug-of-war with
                      an officer over a metal barrier.</h3>
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href="https://substack.com/@mehr215791" moz-do-not-send="true">Mehr Sher</a></div>
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datetime="2026-04-13T15:48:15.655Z">Apr 13, 2026</time></div>
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src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pwdR!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b8762d0-0ea3-4112-962c-ed1d75ed5bcc_720x493.jpeg"
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                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: rgb(119,119,119);font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Student
                          Muhammad Ali speaks at a protest in Pittsburgh
                          on March 2, 2024. Photo courtesy Muhammad Ali.</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
                      struggle over a fallen police barrier lasted less
                      than a minute, but it has forever altered the
                      course of student Muhammad Ali\u2019s life.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">On
                      June 3, 2024, the 21-year-old University of
                      Pittsburgh senior was protesting in support of a
                      pro-Palestine encampment in the center of campus.
                      University police had set up metal barriers, held
                      together with zip ties, to keep protesters from
                      delivering food, water, and supplies to the
                      encampment. Frustrated, some protesters tried to
                      move the barriers.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Ali
                      bent down to pick up a fallen barrier. An officer
                      grabbed the other side and tried to pull it from
                      his hands. After a brief exchange of words, Ali
                      let go and stepped back, his hands raised. He
                      thought that was the end of it. Weeks later, Ali
                      was charged with multiple crimes, including three
                      felonies. The most serious charges against him
                      carry a maximum sentence of 34 years in prison.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Ali\u2019s
                      attorney and supporters say he is being treated
                      harshly because he is Muslim and brown. They point
                      out that the Allegheny County District Attorney\u2019s
                      office filed criminal charges against other
                      protesters, but nearly all of them were offered
                      plea deals with lesser charges, or a pretrial
                      rehabilitation program that if completed would
                      leave them with no criminal record.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">But
                      Ali and another community member, his co-defendant
                      Cole Florkewicz, who is white, were not offered
                      any deal. Both are still facing felony charges.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Assistant
                      District Attorney James Sheets said in court that
                      the decision to prosecute Ali \u201cwas not based on
                      where in the world he comes from, the color of his
                      skin or whatever God to whom he prays,\u201d and that
                      he is not \u201cbeing made an example of.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
                      Allegheny County District Attorney\u2019s office and
                      the University of Pittsburgh Police Department did
                      not respond to requests for comment. The
                      University of Pittsburgh did not respond to
                      questions about Ali\u2019s case.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>The
                      </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/599a63d0-3f92-4c7d-bc72-6527f9747dab?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">ACLU of Pennsylvania</a><span>
                        and other advocacy </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/482a5deb-d54a-45d4-bab5-b8a63d53eb49?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">groups</a><span> have
                        raised concerns about racial disparities in
                        Allegheny County\u2019s criminal justice system since
                        2021 and called for accountability in
                        prosecutorial practices.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cI
                      think there\u2019s a very concerted effort, and there
                      has been for decades, to demonize speech about
                      Palestine and speech that is against Israel,\u201d said
                      Solomon Worlds, a staff attorney with the ACLU of
                      Pennsylvania, \u201cspeech about Palestine being the
                      exception to free speech.\u201d These colleges and
                      universities, he said, seem to be targeting
                      pro-Palestine activists and speech \u201cas a way to
                      show the federal government that they\u2019re tough on
                      antisemitism, so that they don\u2019t lose funding.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">For
                      Ali, who had no prior criminal record, the
                      possibility of a felony conviction for exercising
                      his First Amendment rights is shocking. \u201cThis
                      cannot be real,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy am I being charged
                      with felonies?\u201d</p>
                    <h2 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.625em;"><strong>The
                        Crackdown on Pro-Palestinian Protest</strong></h2>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>After
                        the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and the launch of
                        Israel\u2019s war in Gaza, protests erupted at more
                        than </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/a07cbb28-06ac-4d87-91db-272350e0a8b7?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">525</a><span> U.S.
                        campuses, leading to </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/a07cbb28-06ac-4d87-91db-272350e0a8b7?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">thousands</a><span> of
                        arrests, doxxing campaigns, and criminal charges
                        against demonstrators. The University of
                        Pittsburgh in particular took a number of harsh
                        actions against students and faculty involved in
                        pro-Palestinian speech and protests.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        December 2024, Students for Justice in Palestine
                        held an overnight \u201c</span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/538ea049-cb8d-4e8b-af39-f500316069b3?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">study-in</a><span>\u201d in
                        the library. Students who participated wore
                        keffiyehs, traditional scarves that symbolize
                        Palestinian identity, and Palestinian flags as
                        they prepared for their finals. The university
                        held a conduct hearing against the student
                        organization and suspended them in March 2025,
                        after an </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/c457d3e3-2d5f-410d-9d0a-50e1a9cafba9?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">open letter</a><span> was
                        released condemning this action.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>The
                        ACLU of Pennsylvania </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/3d9c8d28-8fdd-4d3a-a02d-13fdc41e6a8e?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">sued</a><span> Pitt on
                        behalf of the students. A federal judge ruled
                        last August that the group\u2019s suspension was a
                        violation of protected speech and ordered Pitt
                        to reinstate them.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>That
                        month, Elon Dancy II, a Pitt professor in the
                        School of Education, filed a federal </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/4778f256-d01e-496e-bd96-6383a620f0af?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">lawsuit</a><span> against
                        the university and one of its deans claiming he
                        was removed from leadership positions after he
                        defended a group of students who criticized the
                        dean\u2019s response to the war in Gaza.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        April 2024, Ali, who had started at Pitt in 2021
                        and founded an organization called Progressive
                        Students for Change, helped organize the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/2a904623-2ddc-438e-9744-5da8240f2e18?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">first encampment</a><span>
                        at the University of Pittsburgh. The encampment
                        lasted about a week and ended peacefully. In
                        June of that year, as the war in Gaza entered
                        its eighth month, students and community members
                        set up a second encampment at Pitt, calling for
                        transparency on endowment investments and
                        divestment from Israel.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Colorful
                      tents dotted the grass outside the Cathedral of
                      Learning, the Gothic skyscraper at the center of
                      campus. Protesters, including Ali, arrived to
                      support those inside, chanting and holding up
                      signs. Ali wasn\u2019t one of the leaders or organizers
                      for this effort, but showing up and supporting the
                      people in the encampment was important to him, he
                      said.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Campus
                      police arrived soon after, setting up metal
                      barriers to put distance between the encampment
                      and their supporters. The next morning, when
                      protesters returned, they saw that Pitt Police had
                      moved the metal barriers farther out from the
                      encampment. The distance set the tone. By late
                      afternoon, the mood among protesters had shifted.
                      Ali could sense the tension in the air.
                      Frustration rippled through the crowd.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">On
                      the second day, protesters tried to pull apart the
                      zip-tied barriers to move supplies inside. Campus
                      police and protesters struggled over the fence
                      pieces. Ali could see some protesters were injured
                      from the encounters. Soon, only a few of the
                      barriers remained standing. Those who tried to
                      move through the gaps were met with force.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
                      charges against Ali stem from a 51-second
                      confrontation recorded on body-camera footage
                      obtained by Drop Site.</p>
                    <div
class="video-player-with-background is-static video-player-wrapper"
                      role="region" aria-label="Video player"
style="flex-grow: 1;font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin-top: 0.5em;"><a
class="video-player video-player-with-background"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/e033812c-5d29-45b2-9ef8-969ab4a6397f?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
style="position: relative;display: block;width: 100%;cursor: pointer;background-color: rgb(0,0,0);height: auto;border-radius: 8px;padding-bottom: 0"
                        moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                          class="video-player-preview" width="550"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qp56!,w_1100,h_618,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/l_play_button_usfui2,w_144,e_colorize:0/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F193829110%2Fa70481df-c84e-4862-b879-1aad333c515a%2Ftranscoded-00001.png"
                          data-component-name="VideoPlayer-PreviewImg"
data-testid="video-player-static-preview-image"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;max-width: 100%;height: auto;margin: 0 auto;width: 100%;max-height: 100%;background: black;cursor: pointer;position: relative;border-radius: 8px;"
                          moz-do-not-send="true"></a></div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><em>Footage
                        from University of Pittsburgh Police Lt. Brooke
                        Riley\u2019s body camera shows a 51-second
                        confrontation during a pro-Palestine protest
                        that led to charges against Muhammad Ali, on
                        June 3, 2024.</em></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Lt.
                      Brooke Riley\u2019s body camera was recording as she
                      repeatedly screamed at other protesters and Ali,
                      demanding to know whether they wanted to hurt her.
                      Ali, wearing a tee shirt with beige shorts and a
                      white face mask, walked over. He checked on
                      another protestor and stepped between them and
                      Riley, standing near fallen barriers. He stared
                      ahead and said \u201cyes.\u201d After Ali tried to pick up
                      one of the barriers, Riley, Ali, and Florkewicz
                      pulled back and forth on the metal fence for a few
                      seconds before Ali let go and stepped back.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cIt
                      was an emotional response that what she was saying
                      is incorrect, but looking back it feels like an
                      entrapment thing with regards to the questions she
                      was asking about remembering her and also whether
                      or not I wanted to hurt her,\u201d Ali said.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cI
                      think those things are connected in a way,\u201d he
                      said.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>A
                        Pitt police criminal complaint </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/1cfa5627-4a18-4df9-9d47-5802ef92dc60?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">alleges</a><span> that
                        this brief tug-of-war over the barrier by Riley,
                        Ali, and Florkewicz, caused \u201cnumbness and pain\u201d
                        in Riley\u2019s fingers and bruising to her leg.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Riley
                      did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
                    <h2 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.625em;"><strong>Charges
                        and Leniency</strong></h2>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">By
                      January 2025, the DA\u2019s office had filed charges
                      against 20 protesters. Eight were initially
                      charged with felonies, including Ali.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">All
                      the protesters but Ali and his co-defendant were
                      offered plea deals or Accelerated Rehabilitative
                      Disposition (ARD), a pretrial program for
                      first-time, nonviolent offenders that involves
                      probation, community service, and rehabilitation.
                      Of the protesters who were charged, 10 were
                      offered plea deals they accepted. Eight were
                      offered ARD. After completion of the program, all
                      charges are dismissed and criminal records are
                      expunged.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Drop
                      Site interviewed nine protesters, including seven
                      who were among those initially charged. They all
                      say they can\u2019t understand why Ali and Florkewicz
                      are still facing felony charges, when most
                      protesters engaged in similar conduct.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Mark
                      Goldstone, a Washington D.C.- based lawyer with
                      more than 35 years of experience with
                      protest-related offenses, said he thought the
                      charges against Ali were excessive. \u201cIt just seems
                      to be a classic case of government overcharging,\u201d
                      he said.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cThere\u2019s
                      nothing I saw in the video that would indicate
                      that the barricade was being used offensively
                      against an officer, and any injury to the officer
                      probably was a result of accidental conduct,\u201d
                      Goldstone added. \u201cIn the heat of a back and forth,
                      people can say certain things that may not really
                      hold up as an actual threat to injure.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">David
                      Rudovsky, a senior fellow who teaches at the
                      University of Pennsylvania Law School also
                      reviewed the footage. Rudovsky, a civil rights and
                      criminal defense lawyer with a career spanning
                      over five decades, also sees this as overcharging.
                      \u201cTo me, it\u2019s a close call,\u201d he added, after
                      reviewing the footage. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to tell from
                      that at all whether and how she was injured, but
                      let\u2019s assume that she was to some degree,\u201d said
                      Rudovsky. \u201cShe didn\u2019t get treatment, didn\u2019t take
                      time off, so it couldn\u2019t have been a very serious
                      injury.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cWe\u2019re
                      just talking about probable cause at this point,\u201d
                      Rudovsky said, \u201cbut there are grounds certainly,
                      probably for some of the charges, in my own legal
                      view.\u201d</p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
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                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
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                                width="1456" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/c2da548e-8eed-429e-bab4-026a8298441b?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
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                                    moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: rgb(119,119,119);font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">In
                          this frame from a video presented in court,
                          student Muhammad Ali steps in front of an
                          officer pointing a weapon at a fellow
                          protester, saying \u201chands up, don\u2019t shoot,\u201d at
                          a University of Pittsburgh protest on June 3,
                          2024.</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Andrew
                        Collins, a protester and community member, won\u2019t
                        forget Ali stepping between him and an officer
                        who was </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/7f64a035-bebc-46a3-bfd3-fb49d8207e82?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">pointing a non-lethal
                        firearm</a><span> in his direction. Ali placed
                        himself in the line of fire, Collins said. He
                        raised his hands and said, \u201cHands up, don\u2019t
                        shoot.\u201d</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">It
                      was the first time he had ever had a weapon
                      pointed at him, Ali later told Drop Site.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Collins
                      was offered ARD for his third-degree felony
                      charge\u2014a charge Ali is still facing.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">For
                      years, the county\u2019s District Attorney Stephen A.
                      Zappala Jr. and his office faced scrutiny over
                      their treatment of people of color.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        2021, Black defense attorney Milton Raiford </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/ef66e4b8-73b9-4aac-a866-f3e778a68097?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">accused</a><span> the
                        Allegheny County District Attorney\u2019s Office of </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/45bcf911-694d-49d4-8801-287a459688c4?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">systemic racism</a><span>,
                        alleging it offered less favorable plea deals to
                        people of color. District Attorney Stephen A.
                        Zappala Jr. responded by emailing deputy
                        prosecutors and directing them not to offer plea
                        deals to Raiford\u2019s clients. The </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/599a63d0-3f92-4c7d-bc72-6527f9747dab?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">ACLU of Pennsylvania</a><span>
                        condemned the move as an abuse of power and
                        evidence of potential bias. Zappala later
                        rescinded the directive after widespread
                        criticism.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        2023, a national public interest law firm and
                        two law professors filed an </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/bf2358af-5999-448c-80c9-63dba94f0381?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">ethics complaint</a><span>
                        against Zappala. </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/92dd5351-a5af-4d85-9da0-caea27b05feb?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">Civil rights groups and
                        local elected officials</a><span> called for
                        accountability, but he was </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/11484daa-9be5-4768-9a66-ee4ae05f3d1a?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">reelected</a><span> to a
                        seventh term that year.</span></p>
                    <h2 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.625em;"><strong>An
                        Aggressive Prosecution</strong></h2>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Over
                        21 months, Ali\u2019s case has been before six
                        judges. The prosecution was marked by a notably
                        aggressive tone. When a preliminary hearing was
                        delayed at the prosecutors\u2019 request because a
                        witness was unavailable, Ali\u2019s defense attorney
                        Aaron Sontz </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/590d30e3-66f2-4422-b4e7-f220180eb596?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">objected</a><span>. In
                        response, Assistant District Attorney James
                        Sheets, who according to </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/590d30e3-66f2-4422-b4e7-f220180eb596?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">court documents</a><span>
                        was wearing an Israeli flag lapel pin,
                        threatened to hold Ali without bail if the
                        continuance were denied.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>After
                        Sontz protested that such threats were
                        inappropriate, Sheets said, \u201cI don\u2019t make
                        threats, I make promises,\u201d according to Ali,
                        Sontz, and a court watcher whose name was
                        redacted from the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/590d30e3-66f2-4422-b4e7-f220180eb596?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">court transcript</a><span>.
                        The judge granted the delay.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        response to allegations of selective prosecution
                        in a </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/077cbe53-3e3f-4ed5-9610-79eacfec6ae5?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">July 2025 hearing</a><span>,
                        Sheets pointed to the charges against
                        Florkewicz, who is white, and said that Ali, who
                        he claimed was the \u201cde facto leader\u201d of the
                        encampment, had prior encounters with police.
                        Sheets also cited the \u201cegregious nature\u201d of Lt.
                        Brooke Riley\u2019s injuries and said that the
                        officer had specifically asked that no offers be
                        made to Ali.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>At
                        a prior </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/ca20bdb6-9181-4385-9659-8d6aac064691?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">hearing</a><span> Riley
                        said that she was \u201climping\u201d after the incident
                        but continued to work and did not seek medical
                        care.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>The
                        issue of bias also emerged in the prosecution\u2019s
                        evidence, a point raised unsuccessfully by
                        Sontz. Video files, shown in a </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/b0ad7236-b9a5-426a-a49c-e9bc4c0f0cfa?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">photo</a><span> obtained
                        by Drop Site, that were presented by the
                        prosecution at a hearing were labeled as
                        \u201canti-semetic [sic] protests.\u201d</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Ali
                      and other protesters all maintain that the
                      encampment did not have a leader, and the
                      prosecution has provided no evidence to the
                      contrary.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        another hearing, Riley recalled telling a Pitt
                        detective she did not want Ali to receive a plea
                        offer and wanted the case to proceed, according
                        to the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/590d30e3-66f2-4422-b4e7-f220180eb596?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">court transcripts</a><span>.
                        \u201cI want to be heard because he doesn\u2019t see me as
                        a person,\u201d she testified. Riley also said she
                        was upset that Ali \u201chad an opportunity to
                        apologize\u201d at his student conduct hearing at
                        Pitt, but did not.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Sontz,
                      Ali\u2019s lawyer, pointed out that offering an apology
                      while facing a pending criminal case would
                      essentially be an admission of guilt, and a
                      violation of Ali\u2019s Fifth Amendment right against
                      self-incrimination.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Ali\u2019s
                      trial is scheduled to begin in May, but regardless
                      of the outcome, he has faced significant
                      consequences. He was expelled from school, one
                      semester short of graduating, and doxxed on Canary
                      Mission, a site that purports to be fighting
                      antisemitism. Ali is still grappling with what all
                      this means for him. Since last year, he has been
                      taking online classes at the University of
                      Maryland. When he transferred, he lost 40 credits
                      or nearly a year of classes. He hopes to attend
                      law school and took his LSAT this year, but
                      whether that\u2019s possible depends on the outcome of
                      his trial.</p>
                    <br>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;margin-bottom: 0;"></p>
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