A man who was shouting antisemitic and racist remarks this week outside of Queens College in Queens, New York was removed from campus by the NYPD.
The man, allegedly a student from the college, reportedly stood outside the campus main gate with a megaphone, spouting antisemitic and racist remarks targeting Jewish, Christian and Muslim people, According to QNS.
The Queens College Public Safety Office said that worked with college officials and tried to communicate with the individual.
But since he was standing just off campus, they weren’t able to do anything.
Public Safety eventually called the NYPD’s Division of Community Affairs who arrived to assess and de-escalate the situation, according to the college.
The NYPD arrived at the scene and confiscated the man’s megaphone without incident.
“When hate speech occurs, it has effects and consequences on those who are exposed to it. We recognize the need to address these effects on an ongoing basis,” Queens College chief diversity officer Jerima DeWese told QNS. “As such, the Office of Compliance and Diversity and the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding at QC (CERR) will be initiating a campus conversation and other community forums regarding the presence and impact of hate speech when it occurs in our community.”
The StopAntisemitism advocacy organization condemned the incident, releasing a statement on social media alongside photos and videos of the man, who was standing up through a car sunroof with a megaphone spouting antisemitism.
"This vile bigot has been yelling into a megaphone the most vile, antisemitic conspiracy theories and lies one can imagine over the last few days,” the group said. “This is life for Jewish college kids in America 2022.”
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) both denounced the incident.
“Students, faculty and the Queens College community shouldn’t be subjected to these antisemitic and racist rants. Glad to hear law enforcement addressed the issue by fining the individual and confiscating his megaphone. This behavior is vile and it won’t be tolerated in Queens,” Richards said.
Meng praised the NYPD for quickly removing the man and his megaphone, saying she would continue to ask for updates from Queens College and the NYPD.
“Disgusted to learn of the awful incident at Queens College yesterday, where a student was yelling antisemitic and repulsive racist messages over a megaphone,” Meng said. “This kind of language and ideology has no place in our Queens community nor in the rest of our diverse nation.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
