UC Irvine Humanities Core Program lecturer Brook Haley was charged with felony vandalism in the Orange County Superior Court after being arrested in May, accused of pouring red dye into a fountain at a pro-Palestine rally commemorating the Nakba on Oct. 1. An arraignment for Haley was postponed to Nov. 7.
If convicted, Haley faces up to three years in state prison or a $50,000 fine.
Haley, who has lectured at UCI since the 1990s, says that a police officer first asked him to step away from the protest to answer some questions. He cooperated before the officer put him in handcuffs and took him to a patrol car.
“It was a sudden change from being detained for questions to being under arrest,” Haley said in an interview with New University. “Shortly thereafter, I was placed in the back of the patrol car. My friends were gathered nearby. I shouted out the name of my wife and her phone number and also my attorney’s name so that they could contact him.”
Haley spent the night in the Orange County Jail before being released at around 8:30 a.m., he said. He was greeted by his wife, faculty members, former students and members of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
“It was very moving, especially to have them greeting me with chai and donuts and things,” Haley said.
Second-year history and literary journalism student Briana Chen took Haley’s class for three quarters during the 2024 Humanities Core series. She said that if he was found guilty, it would cause a lot of uproar on campus due to his connection with many students. She also says that it would set a new precedent for free speech on campus.
“It kind of, you know, hinders on whether this school will continue to support free speech at all, in any sense, or any demonstrations thereafter, because if they’re not afraid to, I guess, charge faculty, then they are obviously not afraid to charge students,” Chen said in an interview with New University.
Haley previously involved himself in on-campus protests for Palestine, labor or anti-ICE demonstrations. Notably, he was one of the 47 people who were arrested last year at the encampments at UCI.
Haley maintains he had “not touched any dye, was not involved in any plan, did not even understand that it was a crime being committed at the time and was as close to what was happening as at least another dozen people for whom they didn’t have questions.”
After the arrest, the university issued him a 14-day ban from physically appearing on campus. Haley said that he received support from fellow faculty members, who offered to teach his classes on behalf of him.
He was surprised by the silence received from UCI’s Academic Senate, made up of tenured professors on campus. He reached out to the chair of the Senate, as well as the chairs of committees who affected him directly.
“I didn’t get a single response from them, and that really surprised and saddened me,” Haley said.
Despite previous and current occurrences, he maintains his positive attitude and emphasizes how much of his relationship with the university has been strengthened.
“I’m an anteater for almost 30 years now and I’ve got a PhD, a master’s degree. I was an outstanding graduate student. I was the best lecturer on campus, my third year lecturing here. I’m invested in this university in ways that the chancellor can’t take away from me and that some arbitrary arrest or even a targeted unfair arrest is not gonna cleave from who I am,” Haley said.
UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman did not have any comments on behalf of the university at this time, according to an email from UCI Assistant Vice Chancellor Mike Uhlenkamp.
Follow the New University’s News team for more updates on this developing story.
Ennes Kahf is a Features Intern for the fall 2025 quarter. He can be reached at ekahf@uci.edu.
Edited by Alyssa Villagonzalo and Annabelle Aguirre
Editor’s Note: A clarification was made about how long Haley has lectured at UCI.