Windows Smashed, John Harvard Statue Vandalized in Act of ‘Palestinian Resistance’

Updated October 8, 2024, at 1:12 p.m.

An individual smashed the ground-floor windows to University Hall and covered the John Harvard statue in red paint as an “act of solidarity with the Palestinian resistance,” according to a video posted on social media.

The perpetrator of the anonymous act of vandalism appeared to film themselves using a blunt object to break the windows of University Hall, which houses the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The video was published on Instagram by “Unity of Fields,” an account that does not appear to have any affiliation with Harvard.

The account, which describes itself as an “anti-imperialist propaganda front bringing the war home,” wrote that the video of the vandalism at Harvard came from an “anonymous submission.”

“In the early hours of 10/8, autonomous actors at Harvard smashed windows of the main administrative building and vandalized the John Harvard statue in an act of solidarity with the Palestinian resistance,” the caption stated.

“We are committed to bringing the war home and answering the call to open up a new front here in the belly of the beast,” they added.

Harvard Campus Services employees were seen boarding up the windows on Tuesday and access to the John Harvard statue was restricted.

The vandalism comes amid rising tensions on Harvard’s campus around the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. In a statement Monday night, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee called on student activists to ramp up their protest activities.

“Now is the time to escalate,” the PSC wrote on Monday. ​​“Harvard’s insistence on funding slaughter only strengthens our moral imperative and commitment to our demands.”

Harvard University Police Department spokesperson Steven G. Catalano wrote in a statement Tuesday morning that the “incident is under investigation.”

“It is the longstanding policy of the Harvard University Police Department to not comment on open investigations,” he added.

Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, an unrecognized pro-Palestine group that organized the encampment in Harvard Yard last semester, denied involvement with the act of vandalism.

“We were not involved in this action, and in fact learned of it through the same Instagram video you linked,” HOOP wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.), one of Harvard’s most vocal critics in Congress, wrote in a Tuesday post on X that the vandalism was “absolutely criminal and any and all individuals involved must be immediately expelled and prosecuted to the fullest of the law.”

“Now is not the time @Harvard for another working group, it is long past time for consequences and disciplinary action,” she added.

It is unclear if the perpetrator of the act of vandalism is affiliated with the University. Harvard Yard, where University Hall and the John Harvard statue are located, has been accessible to the public “in line with the normal protocol for this semester,” according to a University spokesperson.

There were also a series of anonymous acts last semester, including antisemitic and anti-Palestinian posters that appeared on campus as well as messages posted on Sidechat, a social media app that allows users to post anonymously.

Unity of Fields also posted photos on X of graffiti on the campus of University of Massachusetts Amherst on Tuesday.

“Autonomous activists struck the Engineering Quad and Fine Arts Center of UMass Amherst… Expect more autonomous actions at UMass Amherst. We will not rest until war profiteers are gone, and Palestine is fully liberated,” the post stated.

After similar acts of vandalism at SUNY New Paltz on Sunday night and the City University of New York, New York Governor Kathy Hochul wrote in a post on X that the state has “offered the NYPD and CUNY support to ensure all students are safe.”

—Staff writer Michelle N. Amponsah can be reached at michelle.amponsah@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @mnamponsah.

—Staff writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at joyce.kim@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.