University of Chicago condemns violence but dodges questions about professor arrested in anti-ICE riots

FIRST ON FOX: The University of Chicago exclusively told Fox News Digital that it condemns violence after a professor at the school was charged with violent felonies during an anti-ICE riot in the city’s suburbs, but will not say whether the professor is still teaching classes. 

Associate Professor Eman Abdelhadi was arrested and charged on Oct. 3 with two counts of aggravated battery to a government employee, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of resisting/obstructing peace, a Class A misdemeanor. 

“Safety is a paramount concern at the University of Chicago,” University of Chicago’s director of public affairs Gerald McSwiggan told Fox News Digital. “Violence runs contrary to the University’s core values of free and open inquiry, dialogue and debate. The University promptly looks into any safety concerns, and takes action if necessary to uphold the safety of the University community.” 

FAR-LEFT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PROFESSOR CHARGED WITH VIOLENT FELONIES DURING ANTI-ICE RIOTS IN BROADVIEW

The university stopped short of specifically commenting on Abdelhadi’s arrest, and despite multiple requests, would not say whether she is still actively teaching courses. As of Wednesday morning, her biography page on the school’s website remained active. 

Court records show that Abdelhadi requested a jury trial during an appearance in Cook County on Monday. Her attorney declined to comment. 

Hours before her arrest, she posted photos on X of a line of Illinois State Police officers guarding the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, and chastised the state and Gov. J.B. Pritzker for using state resources for that purpose. 

Rioters and protesters have clashed with authorities outside the facility for weeks. 

OVER A DOZEN ARRESTED AT ANTI-ICE PROTESTS IN CHICAGO SUBURB

Abdelhadi did not return a comment request, but she remained defiant in a post on her Bluesky account Monday.

“Thank you so much everyone for the messages of love and support,” she said on the platform. “I feel fortified by your presence in my life and in the world. I keep thinking about all our neighbors and siblings—hundreds in Chicago alone—who’ve been detained into the unknown of horrendous facilities. We owe them resistance.” 

Abdelhadi appeared on far-left Truthout’s “Movement Memos” podcast the day before her arrest, where she spewed menacing messages about ICE and towards fellow left-wingers. 

“These people are terrorizing our communities and they’re setting up shop. I mean, in Broadview, ICE has been setting up shop in our backyard. Just brazenly taking up community resources to terrorize this very same community,” she said. 

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE THROWN TO GROUND DURING CHAOTIC ANTI-ICE PROTEST

“At this point, you are either on the side of protecting our neighbors and protecting our community, or you’re on the side of this administration. There is no neutral ground in this moment. There’s no center left. You’re either resisting or you’re complicit,” she added.

Abdelhadi is also a known far-left entity and anti-Israel activist whose social media accounts often reference a “genocide” in Gaza.

She made national headlines when she cursed out her own employer at the Socialism 2025 conference earlier this year. 

“F— the University of Chicago, it’s evil, you know it’s a colonial landlord. Like, why would I put any of my political energy into this space? I kind of had a little bit of disdain for people who spent their time doing that,” she said. 

“Turns out, I work at one of the biggest employers in the city of Chicago. I work at a place that is a landlord, a healthcare provider, a police force, f— that s—, but, they are, and a place where I have access to thousands of people that I could potentially organize… actually, this is where I need to build power. That’s possible structural leverage,” she said.