Ohio State president sued over Palestine protest arrests

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio State University Ted Carter has been sued by two former students who were arrested in the university's spring protests over the war in Gaza.

Two lawsuits were filed in the U.S. Southern District Court against Carter and an Ohio State University Police Department (OSUPD) detective. Sumaya Hamadmad, a research scientist at OSU, and Curtis Peace, a 2021 OSU graduate, filed the lawsuits respectively alleging their rights were violated when they were arrested.

On April 25, OSUPD arrested three dozen protestors in connection with a pro-Palestine encampment, with most arrests taking place that night. Protests began around 4 a.m. that day with an organized protest on the South Oval promoted as an encampment online, according to Carter. Per OSU space rules, encampments are not permitted.

According to a message from Ohio State at the time, three protesters were arrested by 11:30 that morning after "multiple warnings." Peace and Hamadmad are two of those detainees, and both said the arrests were their first time getting in trouble with the law.

Hamadmad alleges she was not involved in the protests at all, but rather was watching nearby with two others. She was wearing a headscarf at the time, and said one of her companions wore a keffiyeh, a headdress that has become associated with Palestinians.

Hamadmad claims she was approached by an OSUPD officer, who then returned with several fellow officers and told their group to leave the area. She alleges there were other groups nearby walking or sitting who were not approached, and said after a roughly 10-minute conversation, she was arrested.

She spent most of the day in a Franklin County correctional facility, during which she said her headscarf was removed and she was strip searched with an open door and male officers nearby, she claims. She also said her mugshot was taken without her headscarf.

Peace claims he joined the protests shortly before 10 a.m., when other protesters were already tearing down tents. He said within 10 minutes of his arrival, the group of protesters he was with was told to leave the area because they were a continuation of the encampment protest that violated campus rules.

Peace said he walked a short distance away and observed a group of police officers, who he began filming. He also filmed the interaction where he was first told to leave, and alleges he was arrested while filming them at 10:15 a.m.

Both Peace and Hamadmad were charged with criminal trespassing, but both charges were later dismissed unconditionally, the lawsuits said. Peace said as a result of the arrest, he lost his job. Both are suing on four counts: false arrest, malicious prosecution, retaliatory arrest and prosecution, and First Amendment violations.

Ohio State spokesperson said the university does not comment on pending litigation, but pointed to remarks from Carter at the time addressing the arrests. At the time, Carter and OSU officials said the arrests took place after multiple warnings and were associated with the encampments. Peace and Hamadmad assert they were not part of the encampments.