![]() ![]() Individual passerby shouted things at individuals they understood to be immigrants like "get out of the country." Nava-Perez himself was flipped off, pushed, and had a megaphone he was using to speak shoved in his face. Several incidences of verbal and physical harassment against protesters occurred, with no intervention from the UTPD, confirming for many protesters their suspicion that officers were not there to keep them safe. UTPD officers stated their intention was to keep protesters safe, although event organizers did not request a police presence nor did they feel this show of force made anyone "safer." UTPD accused those who questioned their stated concern with safety as being "confrontational." UTPD officers early on also asked who the event organizers were, pointing at Nava-Perez, making him feel targeted and harassed by officers before the rally and march even began. Immigrant rights activist Eric Nava-Perez speaks at a protest in Texasįor reasons unclear, prior to the start of the planned Walk-Out and Rally Against SB 4 and White Supremacy on September 1, the University of Texas Police Department (UTPD) arrived on the West Mall where the rally was to begin in an unnecessary display of force, and from the beginning, there appeared to be one UTPD officer for every protest participant present. Some of this harassment, according to those present, came from reporters, some of whom did not clearly identify themselves as press, or were considered to be overly aggressive in questioning people.Īll these factors contributed to an atmosphere where Nava-Perez, feeling his safety and the safety of his family and other protesters was at risk, acted based on information he had in a way that can reasonably understood as intending to be self-defense. Several others present have also expressed feeling intimidated and confused by the unwarranted police presence at the protest, and have confirmed witnessing or experiencing incidences of harassment and racism. ON SEPTEMBER 1, Eric Nava-Perez, a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, was arrested and charged with assault resulting in injury during a protest against anti-immigrant racism and legislation.ĭuring the protest, Nava-Perez felt harassed by police, and was verbally and physically harassed by right-wing bystanders and passerby. Sanctuary UT welcomes support from students, faculty, and staff from across the country, and the International Socialist Organization stands firmly in solidarity. Instead, they argue that the most pressing threats facing students, faculty and staff are the passage of anti-immigrant laws like SB 4 and the repeal of DACA the atmosphere of sharpened racism many students feel in the wake of the white supremacist attacks in Charlottesville and the aggressive police presence on campus during protests like the one on September 1. ![]() On September 21, Sanctuary UT activists drafted the statement and petition below that calls on the university to lift this sanction. The University of Texas at Austin almost immediately issued interim sanctions against Nava-Perez, and as of now is upholding those sanctions, which include a ban from campus for the remainder of the fall semester. University of Texas graduate student Eric Nava-Perez, an organizer with the Sanctuary UT movement, member of the International Socialist Organization and contributor to, was arrested and charged with assault with injury on September 1, during a "Walk-Out and Protest Against SB 4 and White Supremacy" in Austin, Texas.
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