Student Kamala Harris Protestor Under Investigation for Disorderly Conduct by the Dean of Students

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The protestor who disrupted the Kamala Harris event at UW-Milwaukee on Oct. 17 is now under investigation by the Dean of Students Office and a hearing is set for Dec. 16 over Zoom. Thomas Cavanaugh, the protestor, says he is shocked that this is happening now right before the school’s winter break and this could highly impact his chances of getting into law schools. 

Cavanaugh disrupted the Harris event by saying, “What about the genocide?” Cavanaugh was escorted out of the building by UWM police, issued a citation for disorderly conduct for $298.50, and released on-site. Cavanaugh told Media Milwaukee this. UWM Police would not confirm the arrest with Media Milwaukee.  

“I didn’t want the spotlight of things. I wanted the political message to be shared,” said Cavanaugh to Media Milwaukee. “But no, unfortunately now it’s dragging the spotlight away from that it’s focusing on procedure and me.” 

Cavanaugh, 30, is a student here at UW-Milwaukee. He is a political science and pre-law major. He is a part of many different local and national communities, including the Muslim Student Association and Students for Justice in Palestine on campus, both members of UW For Palestine Coalition, and he is also a part of the Wisconsin Bail Out the People movement. He was involved in the encampment last May 

On Nov. 27, Cavanaugh received an email from the Dean of Students Office saying: 

 “The Dean of Students Office has received a report regarding an incident on October 17, 2024, alleging you interrupted a speaking event in Lubar Entrepreneurship Center on campus. Specifically, you interrupted the speech by saying, “and in genocide, right?” Billions of dollars in genocide?” You continued to raise your voice and interrupt the speaker as they tried moving forward. Your interrupting behavior caused a disruption to the event, leading to your arrest and police citation for disorderly conduct. 

If this information is accurate, the conduct described will have violated the following provisions of the University of Wisconsin System Administrative Code: 

  • 17.09(14) Violation of ch. UWS 18. Conduct that violates cg. UWS 18, including, but not limited to, provisions regulating fire safety, theft, and dangerous weapons 
  • 18.11(02) Disorderly Conduct 

While you are not required to meet with me, you are required to respond by either scheduling a meeting or informing me of your intent not to attend. If you choose to meet, your meeting must occur prior to December 6, 2024. Please contact the Dean of Students Office at dos@uwm.edu to set up an appointment or to confirm your intent not to attend. You do not need to talk directly with me to make an appointment; the office staff will schedule it for you. Should you not contact the office by December 6, 2024, I will make a decision based on the information available to me. I may also place a disciplinary hold on your records and registration until this case is decided. This hold may affect your ability to register for classes or remain enrolled for the current term.” 

Sincerely, 

Abby Meddaugh 

Associate Dean of Students. 

This email was stated as personal and confidential but was shared by the Muslim Student Association at UW-Milwaukee on their Instagram. Cavanaugh confirmed this was the email sent to him. 

“The only thing that makes sense to me is that they are trying to send a message and to hurt the Coalition,” said Cavanaugh. “They’ve been facing a lot of backlash over how the encampment went, and I think they’re trying to grasp onto anything they can to look good to those other organizations.” 

On UW-Milwaukee’s website under the Free Speech, Rights and Limits page it states, “As a large public university located in a culturally rich city, UWM will always be a forum for the free exchange of ideas — even when those ideas challenge our thinking in unsettling ways. Civil discourse is critical to learning and intellectual growth.” 

“It just seems pointless and spiteful. It’s like I’ve been going to meetings and shouting at people, it’s not like I’m cussing anyone out,” Cavanaugh continued. “I just left the meeting when they told me to leave, I was invited in the first place. This is what campuses are for.” 

There is a section on the First Amendment page on campus under the Heckler Veto paragraph that states, “The so-called heckler’s veto — shouting down or drowning out another person who is speaking on campus — is a disruption and is considered misconduct. Read more on state law and policies related to misconduct in Chapter UWS 17 and Chapter UWS 18. 

Harris and “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban came to UW-Milwaukee’s campus on Oct. 17 to speak to business students about entrepreneurship. This meeting was impromptu with some students only receiving invitations around 7 p.m. the night before. News outlets were also not allowed in the meeting. As the meeting occurred, protests erupted outside of the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center. The protest was due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.  

“In context now, with it being a month or so later, I just feel very vindicated. Because now that I see that the International Criminal Court has ruled it’s a plausible genocide, there are arrest warrants out for the people involved. So of course you should take any opportunity to someone who’s funding genocide and saying they are continuing to fund the genocide to ask them about that.” 

According to the International Criminal Court, “The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.” 

Media Milwaukee has reached out to The Dean of Students Office. They have yet to reach out for comment.  

This is an ongoing case.