I wanted to quickly update readers on the case of Pakistani American Tariq Khan. If you will recall, Saheli blogged about Tariq, who is a George Mason University student, last month. To recap:
Tariq Khan, now a junior majoring in sociology, said he was standing in front of the recruitment table outside the school student center–as he has often done before – during noontime with a paper sign reading, “Recruiters lie, don’t be deceived,” taped to his shirt. A student approached Khan and initiated a verbal argument, screaming in his face; he then took the flyer and ripped it up in front of him, Khan says.
The student then left and returned with another student claiming to be a Marine having recently served in Iraq, and the three continued a verbal argument that began to escalate, Khan claimed. “I asked the marine, ‘So how many people did you kill?'” Khan said. “And he answered, ‘Not enough.'” The marine student soon ripped Khan’s sign off his shirt and threw it in the trash.… [A] staff member called campus security, at which point a police officer, Lt. Reynolds, approached Khan and demanded to see his student ID. Khan said he told the officer he was not carrying his ID and tried to walk away when the policeman tried to arrest him and then became violent. “He threw me into the stage,” Khan claimed, referring to a dance area in the student center left from an event earlier in the day, “and I just sort of raised my hands to show I’m not violent and tried to get as much attention by saying, ‘I’m being non-violent and I’m being brutalized.'” [Link]
Just this week, that shining beacon of hope, the ACLU, announced that all charges against Khan have been dropped:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia announced today that government lawyers in Fairfax County have agreed to drop their case against Tariq Khan, a George Mason University student who was arrested while protesting the presence of military recruiters on campus…After conducting its own investigation into the incident, university officials asked Fairfax County prosecutors not to proceed with the case. The university has also announced that it will be reevaluating its campus speech and protest policies to ensure that they comply with the First Amendment.
The ACLU said it will be reviewing the campus speech policies. “This arrest should never have occurred,” said Willis. “The next step for us is to make certain that GMU does not do this again…” [Link]
For Khan however, the protest will continue:
Tariq Khan said that although he was glad the trespassing and disorderly conduct charges were dropped, he still has a “big problem” with the university.
“They still have a long way to go because the university administration and the police still won’t admit any wrongdoing,” said Khan, a junior sociology major. “This isn’t just about me, it’s about free speech overall…”Although Khan said military recruiters have not returned to campus since his arrest – a sign his original protest was successful – he now has a new cause to champion: the right to speak freely on campus.
“I don’t want this to ever happen again to any student,” he said. The campus police “need to acknowledge that what they did was wrong. They need to make some changes…” [Link]
This is good news.
GMU’s free-speech policies, protest-policies etc need to be revamped and made more objective. The cops’ contention was that he did not have a permit for the protest. Khan’s contention was that a permit is required only if one is distributing literature( he was not).
I disagree with Khan’s opinion and views, but hey, he’s an American citizen – free as a bird to say what he wants to say.
M. Nam
What was the arrest based on?
If it was for not having a permit I see the complaint. But if it was for tresspassing and resisting arrest then I don’t see the problem with the arrest or the rough treatment.
For all the cop knows this kid is some stranger from the street who is in one of GMU’s buildings without permission. That is trespassing. He asked the kid for ID. The kid gives a lame excuse for not having it and starts to run/walk away. The cop pursues and arrests the kid. What’s wrong with that?
Am I missing some facts?
Agree with Punjabi Jag. Unless there is more to this, Khan should have responded that he would try and retrieve his ID as he did not have it on his person. Walking away is simply not an option nor a smart idea when a law enforcement person asks for ID
Bull. What kind of spineless protestor must you be to go home and get your id to present to a cop?? You have to be kidding me. Asking for ID is a form of intimidation. He was doing nothing wrong, nor was he trespassing. There is a REASON why all charges were dropped. Even attempting to take GMU’s or the police’s side in this is pretty lame.
I repeat: Schools/Colleges should make rules more clear,transparent and objective.
Maybe, outside every building they could put a notice: “Only persons with valid ID beyond this point. All others will be considered tresspassers and prosecuted.” You know, like airports.
M. Nam
Good news, and thanks for taking care of the follow-up, Abhi.
As long as the cop had a “reasonable suspicion” something was afoot he had every right to stop the kid and ask for an ID. That isnÂ’t harassment Abhi. ThatÂ’s a cop doing his job. Colleges should be mindful of who is in their buildings at any given time- especially after Columbine, CWRU, 9/11. I can’t imagine a larger collection of “soft targets” than a college campus.
There are many reasons why charges are dropped and just because they were doesn’t necessarily mean they were wrong in leveling them in the first place. I’m not defending any side here, I just don’t see the facts in this post to make a conclusion one way or another. If he was arrested for a lack of a permit that seems dubious. If for trespassing then it seems more reasonable.
I don’t like to see people (Desi or otherwise) get harassed for their beliefs, however illogical, but when you make controversial statements like “This guy next to me is a liar” you should expect to enter into a dialogue with a number of people including angry Marines. In fact compared to the Marines I know this jarheadÂ’s behavior was comparatively civil and witty. I imagine that’s what Tariq wanted to do with his protest- promote dialogue. Next time he plans to do so inside school property he should be prepared to supply some indica of ID saying he has a right to be there. Otherwise, don’t resist arrest when you are hauled off for trespassing- if that is indeed what he was arrested for.
Not so fast…GMU is a publicly funded state school and open to the public. I should know – I went there. There are some areas that are secured (like the Center for Biodefense), but for the most part – open to the public.
For a small relatively unknown school nationally, GMU seems to have had more than its share of controversial students this year:
From the GMU newspaper Broadside:
<
blockquote> Mason Graduate Convicted on Federal Terrorism Charges
By Christopher Anzalone Broadside Managing Editor
Ali al-Timimi, 41, who recently earned a doctorate in computational biology at George Mason University, was convicted last week on ten federal counts of supporting and encouraging terrorist activities. Specifically, he was convicted of urging his followers to join AfghanistanÂ’s former Taliban regime and Lashkar-e-Taiba, a violent Pakistani radical group known for participating in the decade-long insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir and for attacking the Pakistani ShiÂ’ite minority. Although the charges on which al-Timimi was convicted carry a mandatory prison sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema has not ruled out tossing out some of these charges.
Mason Graduate Convicted on Federal Terrorism Charges
What do they teach over there ? 🙂
I can only speak to the law school – law & econ, libertarian and conservative schools of thought, with the concomitant pro-gun point of view.