FSU grad student employee faces misdemeanor battery charge after 'antisemitic harassment'

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A case of "antisemitic harassment" at Florida State University – which made it all the way to the U.S. attorney general's office – has resulted in a misdemeanor battery charge.
The short video that went viral on social media captured an altercation between a woman, who is an FSU employee and graduate student, and a Jewish student. The woman is seen flipping off and yelling at a man sitting inside the Leach Student Recreation Center before apparently shoving the man.
According to recently released court records, a misdemeanor battery charge was brought against the employee Aug. 4. The Tallahassee Democrat does not typically name individuals charged with misdemeanors.
An advocacy group, Stop Anti-Semitism, started ciruclating the video and flagged FSU President Richard McCullough on the social media post saying the "assault warrants immediate expulsion."
The university immediately responded to the post, condemning the act and assuring the public that the incident would be investigated. As the video spread on social media, FSU released another statement saying that the woman shown in the video "has been prohibited from returning to campus" and that charges may be forthcoming.
Under the university's protocol, the altercation will be investigated by law enforcement first, then the university will take disciplinary action. The woman will be prohibited from campus until both investigations and disciplinary proceedings are complete, FSU spokesperson Amy Farnum Patronis said. Potential discipline could range from a writen reprimand to expulsion.
Court records detail the encounter between the two, offering insight from each of their perspectives.
'She definitely just hate crimed me'
The FSU student told police that he had just finished working out and bought a drink from the gym's in-house juice bar when out of nowhere the woman approached him and started tellling him that he was "part of a mass genocide" and "killing people," according to court records.
"I was in shock," the student told police. "I didn't understand what she was saying."
As he tried to ignore her, he said the woman continued to tell him he was killing people and his "family needs to die" because he was wearing an Israel Defense Forces shirt. He said that she tried grabbing his drink and sort of shoved him after she made the comment that she would pour his drink on his head if they weren't inside the on-campus gym.
"But I kind of just pushed her hand away," he said. "She definitely just hate crimed me."
The student said she "started screaming, '[expletive] you, the whole gym, you need to go to hell, I hope your whole family dies" as she left the gym, which is depicted in the viral video. In the 8-second clip, the woman is seen approaching and yelling at the student "Expletive] Israel, free Palestine," the woman says as she appears to bump the man or bat the phone away. "Put it on [expletive] Barstool FSU, I really don't give a [expletive]. You're an ignorant [expletive] son of a [expletive]."
'I'm very offended by it'
The woman was on a spin bike, which has a view of the gym, when she spotted the man's shirt that she said she found to be "very offensive," according to court records.
"I just got very upset and went down and expressed my First Amendment rights, freedom of speech, and talked to them," she told investigators.
She said that she told the student he "should be ashamed" to support an army "committing severe human rights violations," as she sees photos every day of starving people and Palestinians, and "I'm very offended by it."
The student, she said, began recording her as he was telling her she was "uneducated" and didn't know what she was talking about. At this point during the altercation, the woman admitted to cursing at him as seen in the video.
The woman "advised she understands that she should not have handled this incident in the manner she did, and she is very embarassed," court records say. "She also displayed being very apologetic and was willing to apologize to him for her actions."
Investigators asked if any extra footage, such as security cameras in the gym, would show her possibly shoving the student, and she denied ever touching him. The detective asked again if it was possible that she could have shoved him while trying to grab his smoothie to which she said, "No, I did not shove him at all; I never put my hands on him."
"When I left out of Leach, I knew that was a bad idea," she told police.
Survelliance footage captures similar interaction as viral clip
The FSU investigator noted in court records that the woman appears to hit the man's shoulder in the viral video, causing him to lean back in a "defensive manner as if he was pushed."
In his review of the gym's survelliance camera footage, the investigator saw a similar interaction as recorded in the video circulating on the internet.
The woman "appears to touch [the man's] left shoulder in a shoving motion while trying to attempt to reach for his beverage," court records say. The man "can be observed leaning back in a reactionary and defensive manner while lifting his left arm up to protect himself."
After that, the woman is seen walking away to grab her belongings and saying something to the gym employee as she left. The gym worker told police that he didn't even realize any argument occurred until she approached him. He said the woman said it was "unfair" and asked why they let the student in with the shirt on.
The worker "advised he just let [the woman] vent, and she left the premises without any further incident."
After asking the gym employee for guidance, the student immediately reported what happened. FSU said in its statement that its "commitment to swiftly and effectively respond to incidents of hate is unwavering."
"We appreciate the prompt report of this incident, which allowed us to address this instance of antisemitism without delay," the university said.
The viral moment even drew attention from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi who responded to FSU over social media and thanked the university for its "prompt action."
'Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Florida or anywhere else,' she wrote, adding that civil rights officials in the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Jack Heekin of the Northern District of Florida would also investigate.
Local government watchdog reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at [e-mail]. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State employee charged after viral 'antisemitic' altercation
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