Emory professors take on their own university after arrests at 2024 Israel-Hamas war

A woman stands and speaks on the lawn of the Emory University campus. A white building is in the background.
Noelle McAfee, an Emory University professor, talks about her lawsuit against the school over her 2024 arrest at a protest over the Israel-Hamas war on Thursday, April 23, 2026, on the Emory University campus in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Three professors at Atlanta’s Emory University filed a lawsuit Thursday over their arrests during a 2024 campus protest over the Israel-Hamas war, saying the university broke its own free speech policies when it called in police and state troopers to aggressively disband the protest, making 28 arrests.

“The judicial system would find that Emory failed to protect its students, to protect its staff, to protect the educational mission of the university,” said philosophy Professor Noelle McAfee, one of the plaintiffs. “So this isn’t just about people’s individual rights. It’s our educational mission to train people in free and critical inquiry, to be able to learn how to engage with others, to be fearless.”

Laura Diamond, a spokesperson for Emory, said the university believes “this lawsuit is without merit.”