Arrest of Ilhan Omar’s daughter at anti-Israel protest was political, fellow 'Squad' member says

Omar had questioned Columbia leadership’s commitment to free speech during a fiery congressional hearing on Wednesday

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., has claimed that the Thursday arrest of fellow "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar’s daughter at anti-Israel protests at Columbia University was political payback for the congresswoman’s probing of the institution’s leadership the day before. 

Bowman said Omar, D-Minn., had questioned Columbia leadership’s commitment to "free academic expression" during a fiery congressional hearing on Wednesday and the following day her daughter, Isra Hirsi, was arrested.

"The day after @IlhanMN questioned Columbia leadership's commitment to free academic expression, the school suspended her daughter?" Bowman posted on X. "It's clear what is happening here. Our educational institutions should not be in the business of political reprisals."

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Isra Hirsi departs 1 Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, April 18, 2024 smiling and waving. Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was arrested during an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

Hirsi was taken into custody by the New York Police Department and put into flex cuffs or zip ties and will face trespassing charges, according to sources. 

She was among more than 100 people issued a summons for trespassing, the NYPD said. 

Hirsi, an organizer with Columbia University’s Apartheid Divest group, was released hours later from NYPD headquarters. Fox News Digital photos showed Hirsi smiling and waving as she left 1 Police Plaza NYPD Headquarters in Lower Manhattan.

Earlier in the day, Hirsi said she was suspended from Barnard College, located near Columbia, for "standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide."

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Rep. Jamaal Bowman, right, has claimed that the Thursday arrest of fellow "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar's daughter was done for political purposes. Omar is pictured left while her daughter, Isra Hirs, is pictured center. (Getty | YouTube/screenshot-Brower Youth Awards)

Barnard College is one of four Columbia undergraduate schools which has an independent admissions process, curriculum and financial structure, as well as a separate administration, according to the New York Post.

"Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated," she wrote on X. "We will stand resolute until our demands are met. our [sic] demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression."

Dozens of anti-Israel activists began protesting at Columbia University on Wednesday morning, creating an encampment on the main lawn in protest of Israel's war against Hamas. Fiery protests continued into the overnight hours with calls for an intifada and the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Isra Hirsi leaves 1 Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan on Thursday. The daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was arrested during an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

On Wednesday, Omar questioned Columbia administrators during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill about anti-Israel activism on the Ivy League campus. 

During the hearing, Omar sounded the alarm about what she called an "attack" with a "toxic chemical substance" at an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University. However, according to court documents, the substance was a non-toxic flatulence spray called "Liquid A--" and "Wet Farts." 

Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report. 

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

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