U of Chicago professor, Palestinian activist, charged with felonies after arrest at anti-ICE protest

A University of Chicago assistant professor has been charged with felonies in connection with her arrest at an anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest for allegedly spitting on an Illinois State Police trooper.

Eman Abdelhadi, 36, was arrested Friday near the ICE holding facility in the suburban Chicago community of Broadview. Protests have occurred at the facility for four straight weeks, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office, the Chicago Tribune reported. 

Abdelhad is facing two counts of aggravated battery to a government employee, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of resisting/obstructing peace, per Cook County court records.

Prosecutors allege Abdelhadi, a Palestinian-American who has been a vocal pro-Palestinian advocate, “knowingly and intentionally” spat at the trooper at a protest line, according to court documents. She also faces misdemeanors for allegedly refusing to follow an order to disperse and for pulling her arm away from a state trooper to prevent being handcuffed.

Abdelhadi declined to comment to the Tribune.

She is an assistant professor in the university's Department of Comparative Human Development, and has worked at the university since 2019.

The sheriff’s office confirmed that Abdelhadi was released from custody Saturday after an initial court appearance. Abdelhadi was ordered to have no unlawful contact with the Broadview detention facility as a condition of her release.

Abdelhadi posted on Bluesky on Monday, “Thank you so much everyone for the messages of love and support. 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.”