Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff was captured on video reversing his vehicle and striking a pro-Palestinian demonstrator on campus as he attempted to leave a parking area blocked by protesters, according to university statements and footage circulated online.
The incident occurred following a campus debate last Thursday on the war in Gaza and Israel that featured anti-Zionist scholar Norman Finkelstein. Video posted to social media and viewed widely shows Kotlikoff’s Cadillac SUV backing up and making contact with a student identified by organizers as Hudson Athas, who was standing behind the vehicle.
Cornell president filmed hitting pro-Palestinian student with his car
A second student, Aiden Vallecillo, said he believed his foot was run over. Vallecillo told local media he was afraid to file a formal complaint, saying Kotlikoff “is essentially the boss of CUPD” and had already characterized the events.
Protesters, including members of Cornell’s Democratic Students organization, said they had been attempting to question the president about university disciplinary policies related to pro-Palestinian demonstrators. They denied striking or banging on the vehicle and said they maintained a safe distance.
Kotlikoff, in a statement released by the university, did not directly confirm striking anyone but said protesters surrounded his vehicle, blocked his exit and knocked on the windows as he tried to leave. He said he waited until he believed it was safe before slowly reversing, using the vehicle’s safety and automatic braking systems.
“The behavior I experienced last night is not protest,” Kotlikoff wrote in an email to campus Friday. “It is harassment and intimidation, with the direct motive of silencing speech. It has no place in an academic community, no place in a democracy, and can have no place at Cornell.”
University-provided security footage, according to officials, shows protesters surrounding the vehicle as Kotlikoff attempted to depart.
Emergency medical personnel evaluated Vallecillo at the scene and said he may have sustained a foot fracture, according to accounts from participants.
Kotlikoff, who became Cornell’s president in March 2025 after serving as provost from 2015 to 2024, has faced sustained protests over the university’s policies regarding Israel and the Gaza war. Demonstrators have called for an academic boycott of Israel and for Cornell to sever research ties with Israel's Technion through their joint Cornell Tech campus in New York City.
Since October 2023, Cornell administrators have taken more than 80 disciplinary actions against students involved in protests, including suspensions, according to the university. Among those disciplined was graduate student Momodou Taal, a prominent pro-Palestinian encampment organizer, whom the Trump administration sought to deport, according to prior reporting.
University officials have said their enforcement policies are intended to address harassment, threats of violence and disruptions of academic events.