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Luis Alberto Cadena
Luis Alberto Cadena was arrested during an anti-Israel encampment protest in 2024. He has also expressed support for terrorists and spread hatred of Israel online.
Cadena's anti-Israel activism and social media posts occurred during Israel’s war against Hamas, called “Swords of Iron.” Israel launched the war after a series of Hamas terror attacks and war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings, which were executed on October 7, 2023. The terror attacks left approximately 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded.
As of February 2025, Cadena was a member [slide 2] of the "CUNY 8," a group of outside agitators arrested for their unlawful activism in support of an anti-Israel encampment at the City College of New York (CCNY), part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system.
For more information, check Canary Mission’s campaign "Outside Agitators Arrested at CCNY Encampment."
In February 2024, Cadena posted on Instagram, indicating that he was located in New York, New York.
On April 30, 2024, Cadena was arrested for his participation in CUNY's anti-Israel encampment, "following a clash between protesters and police."
The New York Post reported that Cadena was "charged with burglary in the third degree and other related charges."
On July 31, 2024, Cadena posted [slide 6] on Instagram: "Racking up dem charges bois" and added a screenshot that read: "1 count of Burglary in the Third Degree...1 count of Tampering with Physical Evidence...1 count of Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree...1 Count of Criminal Trespass in the Third Degree...4 Counts of Possession of Burglar’s Tools..."
The CUNY 8 refers to a group of eight individuals arrested during an unlawful protest on April 30, 2024, for their involvement in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the City College of New York (CCNY). CCNY is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Law enforcement officers also sustained injuries during the protest.
None of the CUNY 8 were CCNY students. They, along with other protestors, were charged with burglary in the third degree, criminal trespass, tampering with physical evidence and possession of burglar’s tools. In addition, the arrestees were charged with criminal mischief in the fourth degree for causing upward of $3 million in both damage to CCNY property and additional security measures the school was forced to put into place after the protest.
The other arrestees from the protest accepted plea bargains, while the CUNY 8 pleaded not guilty and decided to take their case to trial. The defendants face up to seven years in prison.
The CCNY encampment was one of about 140 anti-Israel college encampments set up in North America in the spring of 2024. The first began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University. Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and used anti-Semitic language in their activism.
On June 4, 2024, Cadena posted [slide 1] on Instagram: "A very nice picture of me" and added a photo of himself reading Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)'s book "Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine."
In the book's chapter "Who Are Our Enemies?" PFLP defined (pp.27-31) Israel and the "World Zionist Movement" as its first two enemies.
The PFLP is dedicated to the violent destruction of Israel. It is designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the United States. The EU, Canada, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Australia and Israel also list it as a terror group due to its history of carrying out assassinations, suicide bombings, hijackings and multiple murders.
In the same Instagram post, Cadena shared [slide 4] a photo of terrorist Leila Khaled posing with a rifle.
Leila Khaled is a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. As of 2017, Khaled was a member of PFLP's Political Bureau. Khaled has said that the second intifada failed because it was not violent enough, advocated [00:36:07] for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.
On August 12, 2024, Cadena posted on Instagram: "Free Palestine, f**k the IOF [Israeli Occupation Forces], and f**k the DA [District Attorney]. Here’s a pic...of me after being indicted."
“Israeli Occupation Forces,” or “IOF,” is a derogatory name for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used by anti-Israel activists to demonize Israel’s army.
On July 31, 2024, Cadena shared [slide 8] on Instagram an image that read: "Anyone who hates 
is my friend without introduction."
