Boston Riot Leads to Serious Charges for Pro-Palestinian Protesters
In a significant escalation of legal consequences, thirteen individuals arrested during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Boston now face felony charges of “promotion of anarchy.” What began as a protest on Tuesday night rapidly deteriorated into violence, resulting in injuries to several police officers and multiple arrests. The Suffolk District Attorney’s Office has upgraded the charges following a review of promotional materials for the event that allegedly featured inflammatory content.
The demonstration, which drew between 200-300 participants to downtown Boston, was organized by local Students for Justice in Palestine chapters to mark the two-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. According to police reports, the situation became chaotic when protesters surrounded police vehicles, kicked doors, and actively resisted efforts to disperse the crowd. The escalation prompted authorities to send additional officers to the scene, where law enforcement reported equipment being forcibly removed or damaged, including body-worn cameras, radios, and bicycles. Four police officers sustained injuries during the confrontation, with one officer reportedly suffering a broken nose in an assault allegedly perpetrated by one of the defendants.
The district attorney’s office justified the enhanced charges after reviewing promotional materials for the event, which allegedly featured a quote from a Hamas spokesperson and imagery of a burning police cruiser. According to authorities, this evidence suggested that organizers “intended to conduct their rally and march in such a way that it induced fear, caused destruction and disruption, caused injury and promoted anarchy.” The promotional content was deemed to have “promoted violence against police and presented an immediate threat to public safety,” providing what prosecutors called “clear justification for the enhanced charges.” This interpretation of the promotional materials played a crucial role in elevating the charges to include the serious felony of promoting anarchy.
The thirteen individuals facing charges range in age from 19 to 28 and include Osama El Khatib, Roder Atwood, Atalanta Carrig-Braun, Haley MacIntyre, Madeline Weikel, Jacob Pettigrew, Amun Prophet, Laith Hintzman, Benjamin Choucroun, Owen Woodcock, Prahlad Iyengar, Styx Hatch, and Gabrielle Smith. During court proceedings on Wednesday and Thursday, bail was set ranging from $500 to $10,000, with the highest bail amounts reserved for individuals accused of the most serious offenses. El Khatib allegedly punched police officers to help other protesters escape arrest, while Atwood reportedly broke an officer’s nose during an assault. These allegations led to $10,000 bail for both individuals, exceeding the $5,000 requested by prosecutors in El Khatib’s case.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden made a clear distinction between peaceful protest and criminal behavior in his statement following the arraignments. “These defendants were not in court today because they were protesting,” Hayden emphasized. “They were in court because they committed crimes. If you assault police and commit other offenses, you’re going to be arrested and prosecuted, period.” He further clarified that his office supports everyone’s right to protest, noting that “peaceful protests happen all the time in this city,” but stressed that “these individuals chose against protesting peacefully, and they are now facing the consequences of those choices.” This statement reflects the prosecutor’s attempt to differentiate between constitutionally protected expression and actions that cross into criminal territory.
The incident in Boston comes amid ongoing tensions surrounding pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the United States, many of which have remained peaceful while others have resulted in confrontations with authorities. According to reports, some protesters at the Boston event were heard shouting hostile phrases such as “F— you, Nazis” and “BPD is KKK” as they refused to disperse. The case highlights the complex balance between First Amendment rights to free expression and assembly and the maintenance of public safety and order. As these thirteen defendants move through the legal system facing serious felony charges, their cases will likely become focal points in ongoing discussions about protest rights, police response, and the appropriate legal consequences for actions that extend beyond peaceful demonstration into the realm of public disorder and violence.
