State seeks to keep protestor arrested twice in a week for assaulting a police officer in jail

The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office is seeking to detain Thomas N. Whitehead, a former doctoral student at Cornell University, without bail after he was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly assaulting a police officer during a protest on the Rutgers University campus.

This was the second time in less than a week that Whitehead, a 25-year-old Cranford resident, was charged with attacking a police officer: he was involved in an April 23 incident in Jersey City that was referred to the Hudson County prosecutor on an indictable offense.

At Rutgers, Whitehead is accused of hitting a police officer with a flagpole that was attached to a Palestinian Flag outside the Hillel House, a meeting place for Jewish students; a group had been protesting a meeting with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly), a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the June 10 primary election.  Three Rutgers students were also arrested.

He is expected to appear at a detention hearing on Tuesday.

On April 18, Whitehead was charged with obstructing a government function in Newark and resisting arrest, both disorderly persons offenses.  He has a court date of May 6.    In June 2024, Cranford police officers charged Whitehead with obstructing a government function and of loud noise; he paid a $540 fine after a plea agreement with the municipal prosecutor.

In Jersey City, Whitehead was also charged with disrupting a public meeting, harassment, criminal trespassing, and resisting arrest.   Hudson County View reported that Whitehead threatened members of the city council over the “perceived” support of Israel and his use of profanity.”  He attended the meeting to protest a flag raising to commemorate the city’s support of Israel.

“I have no problem saying that 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 will just make your lives absolutely 100% the most miserable as possible,” Whitehead said.  “By any means necessary, we will make it impossible for you to continue to support of Israel.  Maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but we will make you stop.”

He wasa graduate teaching assistant at Cornell through August 2024 and was the salutatorian of the Cranford High School Class of 2017.