4 days ago
Member of pro-Palestinian group arrested for allegedly leaving incendiary devices in Common, vandalizing State House
In court filings, police allege that Sawaqed, who works for a biotechnology company in Cambridge, is a member of the Direct-Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation, or DAMPL.
'[DAMPL is] an extreme anti-Zionist organization that publicly advocates for criminal 'direct action' against entities it associates with Israel, capitalism, and imperialism,' police
wrote in a criminal complaint. 'DAMPL's messaging explicitly rejects peaceful protests, instead endorsing violent resistance and sabotage, and has raised significant public safety concerns.'
Shortly after 3 a.m. on July 23, Sawaqed approached the State House gates from the Common and began spray painting the steps, police said.
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His face obscured by a bandana, Sawaqed then dumped an entire can of white paint on the gate and steps before running back into the Common, less than a minute after he arrived, police said.
With Park Rangers in pursuit, Sawaqed got into his car and drove away via Storrow Drive, police said.
At 6:30 a.m., a State Trooper investigating white footprints on the Common discovered 'two suspicious devices' he initially believed were improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
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Officers from the bomb squad determined that the devices likely contained gunpowder and said they were 'intended to cause fire or combustion.'
On Instagram, a group purporting to be DAMPL took credit for the vandalism, writing in part that they 'targeted the Massachusetts State House with paint mixed with feces and lit homemade flares on its gates.'
Sawaqed was arrested after Boston police received notice from police in Toronto about an individual, later identified as Sawaqed, who in a video on social media called for 'sabotage and obstruction targeting government buildings,' police wrote.
'You must bring forth the disruption and disturbances by hindering the entrances into these capitols, into these city halls, municipal buildings,' Sawaqed allegedly said in the video.
In the video, police said Sawaqed was standing behind a poster of Ghassan Kanafani, a Palestinian writer and member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which Canada has designated as a terrorist organization.
Investigators in Boston began monitoring Sawaqed after he allegedly vandalized a statue of George Washington on the Common on June 14, writing the phrase 'DAMPL Global' in red spray paint.
Robert Leikind, regional director of the American Jewish Committee in New England, said incidents like these carry heightened importance after terror attacks against Jewish people in
'These actions become platforms for the kind of violent rhetoric that is inviting people to commit crimes, and not just crimes of vandalism, but crimes that cause bodily harm,' Leikind said Tuesday.
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Truman Dickerson can be reached at
