On April 29, 2025, during Israel's war against Hamas terrorists, Whitehead was reportedly arrested after assaulting a police officer while participating in an anti-Israel rally outside Hillel on the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University (Rutgers), according to the New Jersey Globe.
Whitehead was charged with "aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, riot, and resisting arrest." He was accused of "hitting a police officer with a flagpole that was attached to a Palestinian Flag."
Hillel International is a Jewish campus organization serving college students at 850 universities worldwide.
The rally, which was titled: "GOTT OFF RUTGERS CAMPUS!" was called to protest a speech by Congressman Josh Gottheimer at the campus Hillel. The event's flyer claimed that "Rep. 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," Whitehead and three other anti-Israel agitators reportedly breached a police protest line. Police then declared the protest to be unlawful and arrested Whitehead and the other anti-Israel agitators.
On April 23, 2025, Whitehead was arrested [00:00:50] at a Jersey City Council meeting after threatening to make the lives of the council members "100% the most miserable as possible" and telling [03:22:28] one of them: "F**k you!" as he condemned the city's ties with Israel and called [03:21:42] for Israel's destruction.
During the meeting, Whitehead said [03:19:36]: "I am here to speak against the flag-raising ceremony planned for next week to cement this city's tie with the state of Israel."
Whitehead then said [03:19:45]: "Doing so would be the celebration of a state that is responsible for the perpetration of the genocide. The goal of the Israeli state is to eradicate the Palestinian people."
Whitehead continued [03:21:11], addressing the council members: "If you continue in this flag-raising and your general support of the State of Israel, myself and I believe the people standing here beside me, we'll just make your lives absolutely 100% the most miserable as possible by any means necessary."
Anti-Israel activists use the phrase “By any means necessary” as one of multiple euphemisms for terrorist violence, of which another is “resistance.”
Whitehead also said [03:21:30]: "We will make it impossible for you to continue the support of Israel. Maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but we will make you stop. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” is a chant used [00:02:47] to call for the elimination of the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state. In April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the chant as antisemitic.
Whitehead continued [03:21:48]: "I still have some time left, so I think I'll just do some more chants. One, two, three, four occupation no more! Five, six, seven, eight, Israel's a terrorist state."
Whitehead then started [03:22:08] a chant calling for an "intifada" before being interrupted by a city council member.
The city council member then told Whitehead he couldn't come to the council and threaten them, to which Whitehead replied [03:22:28]: "F**k you!"
The city council member asked a guard to escort Whitehead out of the council chambers.
As the guard and other officers reportedly failed to reason with Whitehead and make him leave on his own, a guard grabbed Whitehead's backpack, which started a violent confrontation with him.
Whitehead resisted being handcuffed before officers arrested [00:00:50] and escorted him out of the building.
Whitehead was later reportedly charged with "disrupting a public meeting, harassment, criminal trespassing, and resisting arrest."
This incident was also referred to the "Hudson County prosecutor on an indictable offense."
On April 18, 2025, Whitehead was reportedly charged with "obstructing a government function in Newark and resisting arrest."
In June 2024, Cranford police officers charged Whitehead with "obstructing a government function and of loud noise."
