Cornell president accused of backing car into protester says he was victim of 'harassment' - BERITAJA

The president of Cornell University claimed connected Monday that he was unfortunate "harassment and intimidation" pursuing a confrontation pinch protesters successful which he appeared to get into his car and backmost into 1 of the demonstrators.

President Michael Kotlikoff said he had conscionable near Goldwin Smith Hall connected the school's Ithaca, New York, field wherever respective groups — including Cornell Progressives, Cornellians for Israel and Students for Justice successful Palestine — had gathered for a statement Thursday nighttime connected the on-going situation successful the Middle East.

As he near the event, Kotlikoff said he was followed by demonstrators each the measurement to his car.

"After answering a fewer questions, I fto them cognize that I was not readying to prosecute further, and asked them to extremity recording," the president said successful a connection connected Friday.

"Their consequence to this was, 'No, we are not going to stop.' They continued to travel maine to my car and past surrounded the car, banging connected the windows, blocking the car, and shouting."

Footage appeared to show Kotlikoff backing retired and making interaction pinch 1 of the protesters.

"I waited until I saw abstraction down the car and then, utilizing my car’s rear pedestrian alert and automatic braking system, was capable to slow maneuver my car from the parking abstraction and exit the parking lot," according to Kotlikoff.

However, Students for a Democratic Cornell insist Kotlikoff "was dismissive" of student "attempts astatine speech earlier the collision occurred."

The student activistic group posted a video it claimed showed really Kotlikoff backed "his car into a student" and ran "over the ft of another."

"The student whose ft was tally complete received on-site aesculapian attraction from Cornell EMS and definitive fearfulness regarding imaginable retaliation for pressing charges against the University leadership," according to the group.