The struggle over a fallen police barrier lasted less than a minute, but it has forever altered the course of student Muhammad Ali’s life.
On June 3, 2024, the 21-year-old University of Pittsburgh senior was protesting in support of a pro-Palestine encampment in the center of campus. University police had set up metal barriers, held together with zip ties, to keep protesters from delivering food, water, and supplies to the encampment. Frustrated, some protesters tried to move the barriers.
Ali bent down to pick up a fallen barrier. An officer grabbed the other side and tried to pull it from his hands. After a brief exchange of words, Ali let go and stepped back, his hands raised. He thought that was the end of it. Weeks later, Ali was charged with multiple crimes, including three felonies. The most serious charges against him carry a maximum sentence of 34 years in prison.
Ali’s attorney and supporters say he is being treated harshly because he is Muslim and brown. They point out that the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office filed criminal charges against other protesters, but nearly all of them were offered plea deals with lesser charges, or a pretrial rehabilitation program that if completed would leave them with no criminal record.