University of Colorado student shares video after she says students were attacked during anti-war demonstration in the classroom

A University of Colorado Boulder student is speaking out after she says students, including her, were attacked after protesting the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict inside a university classroom.

“It was terrifying,” said the student, who spoke with CBS Colorado exclusively on Thursday.

The student, who chose to remain anonymous to protect her identity, says the incident happened Wednesday evening during a “Designing for Defense” course on campus. She and two other students chose to enter inside a class they did not participate in because they wanted to send a message against the ongoing violence against Palestinians abroad.We just think that something vastly immoral is happening in Gaza and the West Bank and it’s important to say something and stand up against what’s happening,” she said.for Defense,” “places students in direct partnership with individuals from the national security community so they can work as part of an interdisciplinary team in solving complex and real Department of Defense and Intelligence Community problems.”

“This has been in the works for a long time. We’ve always known that the Designing for Defense class would be something that needs to be targeted by activists,” she said. “Our goal was to go in and read our statement, which was about 2 to 3 minutes long and leave. Alternatively, if we were told to leave beforehand, we would just leave because it was not worth more than that. It was not worth an arrest but obviously that’s not what happened.”Video provided to CBS Colorado by the student demonstrators captures what happened next.

She says all three entered the classroom wearing keffiyehs, a Palestinian symbol and headscarf, which they also used to protect their identity.

In the video shared with CBS Colorado, the student also blurred the demonstrators faces to further protect their identity. CBS Colorado later blurred the faces of two other individuals who allegedly attacked the students, since no one has yet to face any charges in this incident.

At one point, one of the students goes up to read a statement in front of the class. The instructor appears to take the students’ paper and demand they leave the classroom.”The instructor is walking towards me and I’m backing away at the same time, and I kind of feel like something tugging at my head. Someone had grabbed ahold of my head cover and was trying to rip it off and in the process,” said the student demonstrator. “I fell backwards.”

When the students eventually exit the room, the demonstrator tells us the same man who pulled on her headscarf started to pull on one of the other students’ headscarf in the hallway. CU officials later confirm this individual who was allegedly involved in this part of the altercation is a professional mentor to the course, but no additional information on his identity was provided.

“In the process he was kind of jerking him back and forth and it seems like he had hit his head against the wall, and I was just standing there trying to get it to stop,” said the student.

The university released a statement in response, saying campus police are investigating what happened:

The CU Boulder Police Department is investigating an incident that occurred Wednesday, April 2, where a classroom was disrupted by unidentified individuals, one or more of whom were removed from the classroom after being told to leave repeatedly by the instructor. A second individual who appears to be removing individuals from the class in a video of the incident was not an employee or a student. CU Boulder condemns acts of violence and does not tolerate classroom disruptions, both of which violate state law and university policies. Our campus has long supported our campus community’s right to free expression, so long as those activities are carried out legally and in line with university policy, and do not threaten public safety. The safety of all students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus remains a top priority.

This is an active CUPD investigation, and all applicable charges and other remedies will be vigorously pursued against anyone who violates our policies and laws. Anyone with information regarding this case should contact CUPD at 303-492-6666 and reference case number 2025-0656.

CBS Colorado reached out to the instructor who teaches this “Designing for Defense” course for comment, but we have not heard back as of Thursday night.

“I think the violence that occurred yesterday was just a horrific example of the attitudes against protestors on this campus,” said the student. “The fact that someone, even a professor, felt emboldened to assist in the assault of a protester, a peaceful protestor, is horrifying.”

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