On May 2, 2025, during Israel's war against Hamas terrorists, My Central Jersey reported that Rodriguez and three other anti-Israel agitators were arrested and charged with rioting on April 29, 2025, after participating in an anti-Israel protest outside Hillel on the Rutgers New Brunswick campus.
Hillel International is a Jewish campus organization serving college students at 850 universities worldwide.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 251 and wounded thousands. War crimes included various systematic sexual crimes like gang rape and genital mutilation. Men and women were violated, even after being murdered. Victims who survived that day, including hostages, endured forms of humiliation and torture.
Gazans working in the targeted Israeli villages provided intelligence to Hamas on which families to kill and torture, including long-time employers. Many Palestinian civilians joined in and celebrated the attacks. Hamas livestreamed their crimes on social media, including to victims’ accounts for families to see. To learn more, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
The rally, which was titled: "GOTT OFF RUTGERS CAMPUS!" was called to protest Congressman Josh Gottheimer's speech at Hillel. The event's flyer claimed that Gottheimer "promotes Israel during a genocide."
The protest was endorsed by the anti-Israel campus group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which had been suspended by Rutgers since July 2024.
After police officers asked protesters to "clear the public sidewalk," Rodriguez and the other anti-Israel agitators reportedly breached a police protest line.
The police then declared the protest to be unlawful. One arrested agitator was charged with "aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, riot, and resisting arrest."
After being released from jail, Rodriguez was reportedly [slide 2] suspended by the university and "barred from attending classes or visiting campus."
