'Wanted': Rochester students charged over 'antisemitic' posters targeting Jewish staff

The University of Rochester confirmed on Tuesday that four students were arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief in connection with "wanted" posters placed on campus targeting Jewish staff members. 

CNN named Jefferson Turcios, Samantha Escobar, Naomi Gutierrez, and Jonathan Bermudez as the arrested individuals. They reportedly pleaded not guilty.

The university confirmed that a fifth student is being investigated for the posters placed on the university’s River Campus.

The following photo has been circulating on social media reportedly showcasing a photo from the University of Rochester It shows a “Wanted” poster of Jewish faculty members pic.twitter.com/bGFthOJEnz

— Jewish News Syndicate (@JNS_org) November 13, 2024

The charging documents read that the four students were caught on the school’s CCTV cameras and were charged with damaging the school’s property.

Chief Quchee Collins, from the Department of Public Safety, said in a letter addressed to the community, “While I regret that this deeply disturbing incident took place on our campus, I am incredibly satisfied that through a thorough investigation, we were able to identify those who are allegedly responsible and hold them accountable for the deliberate and deplorable actions targeted toward members of our University community, including members of our Jewish population.”

Collins, explaining the charge of felony criminal mischief, stated that investigating officers found that the incident did not meet the legal threshold for hate crime charges - but “it is important to note that an action can be targeted and biased, as this was, without meeting the legal definition for prosecution as a hate crime.”

University President Sarah Mangelsdorf said that she was “saddened” by the incident.

“The posters identifying faculty, staff, and board members have instilled credible fear among those depicted, their families, and other members of our Jewish community,” Mangelsdorf explained. “On behalf of my senior leadership team, the Board of Trustees, and myself, I want to underscore that antisemitism will not be tolerated. I want each of those who were targeted to know that they have our wholehearted support.”

The university’s president added that she was “disappointed” students had turned to this behavior given the university’s “respectful setting for protest, dissent, and dialogue.”

In addition to targeting Jewish staff, the strong adhesive used by the culprits caused damage to university property, NBC News reported. 

The faces on the posters

Joy Getnick of the university’s Hillel was one of the faces featured on the posters, according to WHEC of Rochester. 

Getnick condemned the posters in a statement, claiming they “spread harmful antisemitic ideas about the Jewish people and about Israel. They further the spread of antisemitic hate on our campus, in an attempt to sow fear.”

Gregory Heyworth, an associate professor of English and computer science pictured on one of the posters, told CNN he was grateful for the university's response to the incident. 

He explained he “was accused of ‘threatening to dox’ protesting students, in a poster that actually committed the offense of doxing.”

Heyworth condemned the vandals for “their willingness to push the boundaries of anti-democratic behavior and infringe on free-speech – to lie, distort, and propagandize – while relying upon those same democratic values for cover.”

The University’s branch of Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization with significant controversy, rejected the UNiversity of Rochester’s categorization of the incident, claiming “the administration’s hasty jump to attribute these posters to antisemitism, without any proper investigation, comes across as an attempt to censor any discussion of the University of Rochester’s complicity in the Israeli army’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

“Antisemitism is bigotry or hatred against Jewish people on the basis of their identity and we unequivocally oppose it, and work to dismantle it along with all forms of oppression. It is not, however, antisemitic to criticize the Israeli government and military that is committing war crimes.”

This is a disturbing, dangerous act of antisemitism. I have directed the @nyspolice Hate Crimes Task Force and @nyshumanrights Hate and Bias Prevention Unit to offer assistance to @UofR in their investigation. We will not rest until the culprit is found.https://t.co/ukEkiUqS7r

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) November 14, 2024

Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the posters as "a disturbing, dangerous act of antisemitism. "