University of Texas professor fired and arrested after pro-Palestinian campus protest

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A University of Texas at Austin professor has been fired days after his arrest in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest on campus. An attorney representing the professor told KXAN that no specific reason was given for his firing.

Richard Douglas Heyman, a liberal arts professor, was charged with interference with public duties, a Class B misdemeanor, after an April 29 incident with law enforcement on the South UT lawn. According to online court records, Heyman was arrested on Wednesday, May 8.

When KXAN asked about Heyman’s termination, UT said it would not comment on personnel matters. Heyman’s attorney said the professor was fired Thursday.

On April 29, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on the campus’s South Mall and set up several tents in the area. The protest was one of several on campus that resulted in a standoff between law enforcement and protesters.

According to the affidavit, Heyman walked up to Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers who were setting up a barrier around protesters camped on the lawn and yelled, “Shit, you don’t belong here.” Police told Heyman to do so area and he decided to stay, the affidavit states.

The affidavit later said Heyman tried to get through a “makeshift fence” made of bicycles that had been erected by law enforcement to prevent people from getting to the protesters’ camp. The officer pushed Heyman back.

Heyman then yelled at the officer and raised his water can above his head, “ready to swing the bottle,” the affidavit said.

“Heyman then grabbed my bike (the officer’s bike) by the handle with his left hand and maintained the swinging position with his right hand,” the affidavit states.

When Heyman grabbed the bike, he broke the bike bell and “became aggressive toward UT Police officers,” the affidavit states.