Some Republican lawmakers say they felt unsafe and are accusing a state university of mishandling a potentially dangerous situation following a protest at an event on Wednesday. The lawmakers and Governor Ned Lamont visited Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) on Wednesday for the Greater New Haven Chamber Annual Legislative Forum. The event allows the governor and various state lawmakers to discuss legislative priorities.
The governor’s speech, however, was interrupted when around 10 protesters entered, proclaiming support for Gaza and the Palestinian people amid the war with Israel. The protesters demanded that Connecticut stop any aid or business ties with Israel.
“We demand that you call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine,” one of the protesters can be heard shouting to Gov. Lamont in a video uploaded to TikTok. “That you cut all business ties with the genocidal Israeli state and that you stop funneling our tax dollars toward weaponry and the IDF.”
The video was posted by a user named Dissenters which calls itself “A youth led anti-imperialist movement turning the tide on militarism and war” on its profile.
The protesters left peacefully when asked by University police. A spokesperson for the school said that only two of the protesters were students. The rest were community activists who had bought tickets for the event.
Governor Lamont has frequently voiced strong support for Israel, especially following the October 7th attacks by the terror group Hamas which killed 1,200 Israelis and started the current war. As of this writing, more than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in waves of bombings by Israeli forces.
In 2022, Lamont became the first Connecticut governor in 25 years – and the first U.S. governor in two – to send a diplomatic mission to Israel to support business ties between the country and Connecticut.
Some lawmakers in attendance, however, don’t believe the university handled the protesters properly. In a letter sent to SCSU Interim President Dwayne Smith, House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford), Representative Kathy Kennedy (R-Milford), Representative Craig Fishbein (R- Wallingford), Representative David Yaccarino (R-North Haven), and Senator Paul Cicorella (R-North Haven), called the response from campus police “grossly inadequate” and said the administration demonstrated a “failure to de-escalate the situation.”
“The governor was left on stage in a very vulnerable position, as protesters were closing the doors to secure us all in one room,” says the letter. “I did not observe a single action to take appropriate measures to secure the crowd, and guarantee the safety of the attendees. If an attendee had begun to physically assault one of the protesters, the event could’ve spiraled into something that no one would have ever wanted.”
The letter goes on to say that the lawmakers felt unsafe and urges the university to “evaluate the protocols you should have in place to address and de-escalate these types of situation.”
The lawmakers do state that peaceful protest has a place on campus, but that they should not be allowed to shut people into a room and hijack an event.
Inside Investigator reached to SCSU for a response and is awaiting a statement.
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