Citing threats, UMCP police pushed to cancel the Oct. 7 pro-Palestinian event

But Pines released a campus-wide letter on Sept. 1 canceling all student-led events on campus Oct. 7. The letter also said that campus police informed Pines that there was “no immediate or active threat,” but that the university still canceled events for safety reasons.

However, Mitchell testified in court on Monday that the school had received emails and other correspondence against the student group.

“Did anyone threaten violence against SJP on October 7?” asked Gadeir Abbas, senior litigator at CAIR.

“Yes,” Mitchell replied.

Mitchell said he recommended Pines allow the vigil not only because of those threats against the group, but also because he said he may not have enough officers to handle such an emotional event.

Assistant Attorney General Patrick Sheridan, who represented the university, asked Mitchell whether emails and other threats were received on campus before October 7, 2023.

No, Mitchell said, adding that in his 14 years as police chief, he has never recommended canceling a campus event.

Rather than simply not allowing the group to host an event, Patricia Perillo, the university’s vice president for student affairs, testified that the group could hold its event on Oct. 8. Sheridan said if the Students for Justice in Palestine event is “purely educational in nature, for purposes with no political content, they can do that on Oct. 8.”

But Daniela Colombi, a junior at Maryland and member of SJP who testified for nearly an hour Monday, said hosting the vigil on Oct. 7 was “a very big, symbolic day.” Oct. 7 was the day of one Hamas surprise attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis, triggering a sustained Israeli military attack on Hamas in Gaza that may have killed up to 40,000 people, according to health authorities there.

“As students, we feel the need to advocate for our peers around the world,” Colombi said.

Asked in court whether the group had made any accommodation arrangements for the Oct. 8 event, Colombi said no.

Despite threats against the group, which included someone who allegedly threatened to bring a gun onto campus, Colombi said after the hearing: “It is the school’s responsibility to protect us from people, not by that it drives us off campus. “If there are real threats, then the university has a responsibility to deal with them and ensure that it is actually safe for all of us.”

Before the hearing ended shortly after 3 p.m., Messite made a few comments.

“The First Amendment is important. “Sometimes it’s not an easy task,” he said. “Whatever happens, the university will survive.”