A psychologist for Indianapolis Public Schools was among those held when police arrested 14 masked adults who officers said were blocking traffic late last month just outside the Governor’s Residence in the state capital.
The school psychologist, Karisa Cole, and the other arrested protesters were charged with obstructing traffic April 25 at 10:30 a.m. on Meridian Street in Indianapolis.
In public statements that morning, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department warned that although peaceful protesting is constitutionally protected, blocking traffic violates Indiana law.
After brief remarks and a collective chant calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and for Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, to divest from doing business with Israel, the protesters crossed into Meridian Street and blocked traffic.
When police officers arrived, they asked the protesters to leave the roadway multiple times. When the protesters didn’t move, officers arrested the 14 obstructers, who began to sing as officers pulled them off the street.
Cole, 45, appears to own several social media accounts that advertise her employment as a school psychologist by Indianapolis Public Schools since 2020. They include multiple anti-Israeli and antisemitic posts, including promotion of the ethnic-cleansing motto of the Hamas terrorist organization, “From the River to the Sea.” (This motto calls for Jews west of the Jordan River to be swept violently into the Mediterranean Sea to make room for the Islamic State of Palestine).
Cole’s Instagram account, marked by “she/they” personal pronouns, includes instructions for teachers to “adopt social justice and anti-racist teaching skills” when “teaching about Palestine in the classroom.”
Cole warned teachers not to put Israel and Palestine on the “same level,” accusing Israel of being an apartheid state that is “committing an ethnic cleansing.”
Cole also encouraged teachers not to describe Hamas as “extremist” or “terrorist.” She accused those who do so of racism “against Muslim or POC [people of color] communities.”
Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other NATO countries since 1997.
Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, slaughtering 1,200, torturing or raping many first, and taking over 200 hostages. Ever since, the Israeli military has targeted the adjacent Gaza Strip—where Hamas is the elected government and uses civilians as shields—with the goal of “eradicating” the terrorist group.
The Daily Signal obtained Cole’s booking photograph and other public information about her arrest from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Indianapolis Public Schools did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on whether the school district was aware of Cole’s arrest or what if any action it has taken as a result.
The Indianapolis Center for Inquiry School 70, the building where Cole works, lists her as a school psychologist on its staff page.
Cole didn’t respond to requests for comment and confirmation that she owns the social media accounts cited above. However, the school psychologist’s LinkedIn account was deleted after The Daily Signal reached out.
