Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has imposed financial sanctions on 11 U.S. police chiefs, five of whom are from institutions of higher education. The sanctions are for what Iran claims are a “flagrant violation of human rights by suppressing [the] pro-Palestine student protest movement.”
According to a statement by the ministry, the chiefs that have been sanctioned include:
- William Billy Hitchens, Deputy Commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Public Safety
- Eddie Grier, Commanding Officer over Field Operations, Georgia Department of Public Safety
- Linda J. Stump-Kurnick, Chief of the University of Florida Police Department
- Pamela A. Smith, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
- Jeffery Carroll, Executive Assistant Chief, Metropolitan Police Department District of Columbia]
- Karl Jacobson, Chief of New Haven Police Department
- Shane Streepy, Assistant Chief of University of Texas Police Department (UTPD)
- Michael Cox, Commissioner of the Boston Police Department
- Scott Dunning, The Indiana University Police Department Central Division Chief
- Michael Thompson, The Arizona State University (ASU) Police Chief
- John Brockie, Chief of Police at California State University Long Beach Police Department
The sanctions were announced on July 4. Those who were sanctioned will be barred from owning Iranian-based assets, opening Iranian bank accounts, making transactions in Iran, and entering Iranian territories, reports the State Press. They will also be denied visas to enter the country.
Biden Administration: Iran Trying to Take Advantage of Pro-Palestinian Protests in U.S.
Last week Avril Haines, who is the director of national intelligence, warned that the Iranian government is providing support to the pro-Palestine protests.
“In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza, using a playbook we’ve seen other actors use over the years,” she said in a statement. “We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters.”
Daniel Rothenberg, a professor and co-director of ASU’s Future Security Initiative told 12News, however, that Haines’ statement about Iran shouldn’t be considered a rebuke of those who are protesting in good faith Israel’s actions in Palestine.
Related Article: University Emergency Management’s Response Role in Civil Unrest
“The fact that there may also be Iranian agents involved and seeking to influence this doesn’t diminish the legitimacy of those protests, and the fact that so many people involved in them are not at all related to Iran or supporters of Hamas,” Rothenburg said.
ASU’s Thompson is on paid administrative leave while the university reviews his department’s response to the pro-Palestine protests that happened on the school’s campus this spring.