A pro-Palestinian protester was arrested during a raid on the Columbia University campus in connection with an alleged attack on a man holding an Israeli flag. The suspect, identified as James Carlson, a 40-year-old Brooklyn resident, faces charges of criminal mischief, arson, and criminal possession of stolen property related to the April 20 assault, according to the New York Police Department.
During the incident, three suspects approached the victim and forcibly took the flag. One suspect fled into a crowd with the flag, while another threw a rock at the victim's face as he attempted to pursue them. A third suspect seized the flag and proceeded to set it on fire. The victim sustained minor injuries but declined medical attention. Carlson is accused of participating in the assault, while the other two suspects involved remain at large.
Carlson was apprehended during the NYPD's operation to reclaim Hamilton Hall on the prestigious Ivy League campus, which had been occupied by anti-Israel protesters. The arrest sheds light on the ongoing tensions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the various forms of activism and dissent it has sparked.
