Abouazza was arrested on seven counts—operating a motor vehicle on a suspended license, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle without insurance, attaching plates, possessing stolen property under $250 and two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon.

Police concerns piqued during the traffic stop and subsequent field investigation when Palestinian activist Amer Jubran, who was sitting at Au Bon Pain, saw the police interrogating Abouazza and offered his services as a translator. (According to court records, Abouazza does not speak fluent English.)

Jubran, who has been a leader in pro-Palestine activism in the Northeast and active in Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.), walked over to observe the police interrogation of Abouazza and ensure his rights were not violated, according to Kirschbaum.

The presence of Jubran and another Arab organizer at Au Bon Pain at that moment, combined with the passing presence of Abouazza, sparked concern among law enforcement.

Jubran has been a frequent leader of protests against the Israeli state, including a large protest on Israeli Independence Day in 2001 in Brookline in which Jubran was arrested. The charges in that incident were later dropped.

Last Monday, Jubran was taken into custody by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and FBI at his home in Cumberland, R.I., on charges that he was in the U.S. illegally. Currently, he is being held in a Rhode Island jail.

“This is a pattern and practice of the government pinpointing individuals who are activists and trying to silence them,” says Abouazza’s immigration attorney Nelson Brill.

Riley says that Abouazza’s arrest did not have anything to do with Harvard besides its Dunster Street location.

“We had no information that there was any threat posed towards Harvard,” Riley says.

Nevertheless, the strange confluence of people on May 30, the follow-up investigations by law enforcement agencies and the already-heightened tensions surrounding Commencement led Riley just days before the June 6 exercises to recommend that metal detectors be used.

The Defendant

According to Kirschbaum and Brill, Abouazza is a Palestinian activist with Canadian citizenship.

Court records were filed under the name “Abouassa,” but also refer to him as “Abouzza” and “Abouazza.”

But friends refer to the defendant as Abouazza, as seen on numerous pro-Palestine websites with articles about his arrest and subsequent detention.

Police reports indicate that Abouazza was living in Dorchester at the time of his arrest.