The CNN images in which an economics professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Caroline Fohlin, comes across the violent arrest of a protester on campus are causing discussion. She asks the police, shocked: “What are you doing?” That’s enough, a moment later, to trigger a nightmare for the teacher. An officer pushes her to the ground and handcuffs her despite her screams and apologies while the other demonstrators around her scream shame and accuse the officers of fascism.
Court records at the DeKalb County Jail showed that charges were filed against the teacher: one for disorderly conduct and another for simple assault on a police officer. A screenshot of the allegations was shared on X by freelance reporter Robert Mackey.
The accusations against the teacher
In Georgia, the crime of simple battery “applies when an individual is perceived to intentionally cause harm to a person. Specifically, it involves making contact with someone in a threatening, challenging or intimidating way.” However, the images reveal that Fohlin did not injure or struggle against the officers who arrested her. In the American state, the charge of simple battery carries a fine of one thousand dollars or one year in prison. Fohlin is not the only professor arrested during Thursday’s protest at Emory: the other is Noelle McAfee, chair of the university’s philosophy department. Emory has been the scene of some of the most violent clashes between students and law enforcement since pro-Palestinian protests began at US universities. At least 23 people were arrested on Thursday, on charges ranging from rioting to obstructing the work of the police force. According to what was reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, all those arrested were granted bail. Fohlin was given a $50 bond on the simple battery charge. However, there is a possibility, explains the DailyBeast, to avoid the worst at a judicial level: the charges against Fohlin and the others arrested at Atlanta University can be dropped. There is already a precedent, for example on Friday the charges were dropped against all 57 protesters arrested on Wednesday at UT Austin.
