No. of Recommendations: 11
I've never seen so many people at Powderhouse Park. There were about 300 people at the 250th anniversary of the Powder Alarm. Today, over 2000 people protested the arrest of a Fulbright Scholar.
This arrest took 6 agents and surveillance over two days. It could have been done with a simple letter. The crime seems to be writing an op-ed, or passing out pamphlets, or having the wrong photos. All of which is probably protected first amendment speech. But we don't know, because the government is avoiding due process.
This is senseless and counterproductive. Spending thousands of dollars when a few dollars could achieve the same outcome. The pro-Palestine protests last year were small (less than 100 students at Tufts). The protest today at Powderhouse Park was over 2000 people, many middle-aged and not students. These senseless arrests are destroying mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is rolling over in his grave.
=== links ===
More than 2,000 rally in solidarity with Tufts student detained by immigration authorities, Updated March 26, 2025 (behind a paywall)
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security asserted Ozturk “engaged in support of Hamas,” a US-designated terror group behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the conflict in Gaza, but did not provide evidence of that claim.
This article includes many quotes from shocked neighbors.
“WTF?? Hands off my neighbors.”
“You can’t just nab people off the sidewalk and throw them in a car and take them away, and expect anyone who’s seen it to be alright afterwards.”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/26/metro/its-r...Tufts international student taken into custody by federal agents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJAAARN_lvkTurkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her
https://apnews.com/article/tufts-student-detained-...In first pro-Palestine rally of the school year, protesters continue calls for divestment, Published Thursday, September 19, 2024
"Over 70 protesters marched to the house of University President Sunil Kumar during a pro-Palestine rally on Sept. 12, the first to take place on Tufts’ campus this semester."
https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024/09/in-firs...Medford, Somerville local history: Remnants of the Revolutionary War preserved near Tufts
“[In] the early hours of Sept. 1, 1774, 250-odd British troops got in boats, went into the Mystic River silently in the early hours of the morning and then marched towards the powder house,” he said. Despite General Gage’s attempts to maintain control, the British seizure of gunpowder did just the opposite — it led to massive unrest.
https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024/11/medford... 