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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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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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<h1 class="post-title published title-X77sOw"
dir="auto"
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href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=193829110&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=lvppb&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTkzODI5MTEwLCJpYXQiOjE3NzYwOTUzOTcsImV4cCI6MTc3ODY4NzM5NywiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.OzCi4hGqsplvqjtMnAHfgEILlOIECJA93G1rRhgDiTk"
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: none;"
moz-do-not-send="true">How 51 Seconds at a
Pro-Palestine Protest Could Send a Muslim
Student to Prison for 34 years</a></h1>
<h3 class="subtitle subtitle-HEEcLo" dir="auto"
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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<td class="content" align="left"
width="1200" style="text-align: center;"><a
class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/a7dc300e-03e6-4704-96e2-21f31f78bab8?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
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alt="" width="550"
height="376.59722222222223"
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;">
<table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="content" align="left"
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"
rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img
class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1d2b2c91-adfe-4cc9-93e6-c3a7c2da17e9_2888x1624.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":819,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":5091142,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://www.dropsitenews.com/i/193829110?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1d2b2c91-adfe-4cc9-93e6-c3a7c2da17e9_2888x1624.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}"
alt="" width="550" height="309.375"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0Sd-!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1d2b2c91-adfe-4cc9-93e6-c3a7c2da17e9_2888x1624.png"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
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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