Concord, N.H. — Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) issued a statement following the arrest of 90 students and protesters at Dartmouth College last night:

“I am aware that a group of students and protesters were arrested at Dartmouth College last night, and we are monitoring the situation carefully. 

“Like many Americans, I was shocked by the vile attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians last October 7th. While I believe that Israel has the right to self-defense, I also have grave concerns about how Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has prosecuted the war in Gaza, resulting in an unprecedented number of Palestinian civilian casualties.

“As a defender of the U.S. Constitution, I support students’ rights to freedom of speech and peaceful protest. However, these rights are not absolute, and the College has rules designed to protect the rights of all students to access their education fairly, without bias or discrimination. 

“Freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly are the bedrock values of our country, but hate speech and antisemitism are not. No person should feel unsafe or be targeted because of their religious beliefs.”

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