Leftist Professor Charged After Participating In Violent Chicago Anti-ICE Riots

A leftist professor was hit with felony charges for her alleged participation in violent anti-ICE riots in Illinois Friday.

University of Chicago assistant professor Eman Abdelhadi, who teaches in the department of comparative human development, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a government employee, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of resisting/obstructing peace, a Class A misdemeanor, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Wire.

She was released on Saturday.

Abdelhadi posted a photo of Illinois state police outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on X the day of her arrest with the caption: “Here’s a picture of Illinois state tax dollars going to enforcing Trump’s agenda of terrorizing our community with abductions.”

Here’s a picture of Illinois state tax dollars going to enforcing Trump’s agenda of terrorizing our community with abductions. Thanks @GovPritzker! pic.twitter.com/0wfNCBAtb8

— Eman Abdelhadi (@emanabdelhadi) October 3, 2025

She was seen at an anti-ICE demonstration shouting in officers’ faces while donning a shirt reading “FREE PALESTINE” in a video posted to her Instagram.

Abdelhadi appeared on “Movement Memos” the day before her arrest, where she shared her experiences participating in anti-ICE protests in Illinois.

“These people are terrorizing our communities and they’re setting up shop. I mean, in Broadview, ICE has been setting up shop in our backyard. Just brazenly taking up community resources to terrorize this very same community,” Abdelhadi said. “And so it felt really important to join protesters out there to say, not in our city, not in our name, not in our backyard. This will not go by unnoticed. This will not go by without resistance.”

“At this point, you are either on the side of protecting our neighbors and protecting our community, or you’re on the side of this administration. There is no neutral ground in this moment. There’s no center left. You’re either resisting or you’re complicit,” she added.

Abdelhadi was investigated by the University of Chicago after she called the school “evil” and “a colonial landlord” at an annual socialism conference on July 5.

The anti-Israel professor also posted “Morning Freedom” with a Palestinian flag emoji on the day of the October 7 attack.

Eman Abdelhadi: “F*** the University of Chicago… but it’s my best shot at power.”

At Socialism 2025, @UChicago professor Eman Abdelhadi called her employer “evil colonial landlord.”

Use it. Organize it. Seize its structural leverage.

“We don’t have power… but I work at one… pic.twitter.com/Mes06SYMEp

— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) July 6, 2025

The University of Chicago did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Abdelhadi’s latest arrest.

The Trump administration has deployed 200 Texas National Guard soldiers to Illinois amid an uptick in anti-ICE assaults.

On Saturday, Border Patrol agents in the Chicago area were boxed in by a convoy of vehicles. Agents opened fire on one of the alleged attackers after it was determined that she was armed with a semi-automatic weapon.

A federal judge declined to block President Donald Trump’s deployment of Texas troops to Chicago Monday, rejecting a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois challenging the deployment.

Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Monday to create “ICE-free zones” across the city.