Body camera footage taken outside a Cornell University panel in March shows a university administrator discussing the detention of protesters with Cornell police.
The event featured a former Israeli official, a former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, and U.S ambassadors to the region. Over a dozen people were charged with disorderly conduct at the event, titled “Pathways to Peace.”
Bodycam footage obtained and verified by WSKG shows a person identified in court filings as the university’s Chief Administrator of the Provost and the President Kristin Hopkins discussing the number of protesters identified for discipline with police officers.
“Do you feel like you’ve gotten a decent amount?” she asks.
Police tell Hopkins they have gotten identification from 6 to 8 people.
Hopkins is shown to be texting with another person while speaking to officers. She says "Mike’s asking" about the number of ID cards taken.
Cornell University did not respond when asked whether the “Mike” referred to in this interaction was University President Michael Kotlikoff, who attended and facilitated the event.
“He was just hoping the number would be more,” Hopkins later says. “Than eight-ish.”
“And there probably is,” the officer replies. “The one who was just sitting here video-ing, I just asked her ‘Can you please leave?’ She said ‘No I’m not leaving. I’m video taping this.’ I said ‘you’ve got one more opportunity to leave or you’ll be arrested.’”
“You good with that, Kristin, til’ we figure out?” another officer asks before leaving.
Her response, if there was one, isn’t heard on the body camera footage.
Cornell University did not respond to WSKG’s request for comment on the video.
Demonstrators arrested, charged
Before the “Pathways to Peace” event was over, a total of 17 people were detained or arrested. Most of them were charged with disorderly conduct.
The panel was open to the general public. Nine of the people arrested were students, the rest were staff, alumni, or members of the public who were unaffiliated with the university.
Demonstrators were protesting the presence of former Israeli Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni at the event. In 2009, a British court issued an arrest warrant for Livni over war crimes accusations in relation to a 2008 military offensive in Gaza, but later withdrew the warrant.
Some audience members chanted phrases including “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and shouted phrases like “war criminal” according to reporting from the Cornell Daily Sun. They were then escorted out of the event.
Police collected identification from attendees and are seen on body camera footage telling them they are arrested for disorderly conduct and will be contacted later regarding the violation, before letting most of them go.
Of the 13 charged with disorderly conduct, most had their cases put on a path to dismissal after a hearing. Some had their charges dropped. Some initially decided to move forward with criminal trials, although their cases have since been dismissed or are in the process of dismissal, according to attorneys representing some of them.
In a statement published the day after the panel, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said “the event was marred by disappointing disruptions.”
“Events like Pathways to Peace represent our ambition to embrace diverse viewpoints and engage in difficult conversations,” Kotlikoff said. “Cornell must be a place where all voices can be heard and none are silenced.”
Daniel Creamer was one person charged with disorderly conduct. He was handcuffed by Cornell University Police and separated from other protesters who were detained at the event.
When asked for comment on the incident, Creamer said the walk out and the arrests that followed cannot be separated from the war in Gaza.
“Kotlikoff wanted protesters for Palestine arrested to appease the larger imperialist system,” Creamer said. “You know, he wanted to be able to say, ‘Hey, look at Cornell. We are still a good, well-behaved cog in this larger imperialist scheme of violence.’”
The Israeli military has killed more than 60,000 people in Gaza since the war began, with international watch groups warning of widespread starvation.
Around 1,200 people were killed by Hamas in the October 7 attack on Israel. The Israeli government estimates that there are around 20 living hostages still being held in Gaza.
Letters and filings
Attorney Sujata Gibson, who represented some of the individuals charged with disorderly conduct at the event, said there's a clear case for viewpoint discrimination.
“It's like brainstorming out in the open, on camera, about how to suppress speech,” Gibson told WSKG. “There's really no other way to read this.”
Defense filings in the case of one of the individuals accused of disorderly conduct say officers pointed out individuals wearing keffiyehs attending the event.
Keffiyehs are a scarf historically worn by Palestinians, but have also been widely adopted by pro-Palestinian activists outside of the region.
Filings say body camera footage shows police officers pointing out attendees they suspect will be arrested, referencing people wearing keffiyehs. Filings say officers referred to them as “polka dotted” scarves.
On the same day as the event, the university was one of 60 colleges across the country that received a “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education. It threatened potential enforcement actions over allegations of antisemitism on campus. Just days before, the Trump administration cancelled $400 million in grants to Columbia University.
Around a month after the event, Cornell itself was stripped of a reported $1 billion in federal funding for alleged civil rights violations. It joined a host of colleges that saw similar funding withdrawals.
Over the past month, several of those universities, including Columbia, have made deals with the Trump administration, to get that money back.
Cornell University is reportedly in talks with the administration to strike its own deal.