The man arrested last Monday during Álvaro Uribe‘s lecture is a field organizer affiliated with School of Americas Watch, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

Nicolas Udu-gama, who the Reporter interviewed, stood up as Uribe took questions from Professor Eric Langenbacher‘s Comparative Political Systems class, began clapping derisively, and approached the stage. He was forcibly removed by the Department of Public Safety and then arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department.

The protest aimed to criticize “social cohesion by threatening and physically eliminating any social opposition,” Udu-gama said.

The School of Americas Watch has been involved with protests against Uribe’s hiring since they began earlier this month. University officials, however, continue to support Uribe’s position at Georgetown.

“As an academic community, we are committed to fostering the transmission of knowledge and supporting the free exchange of ideas,” University spokesperson Julie Green Bataille wrote in an email to the Reporter. “Georgetown is not endorsing the political views or government policies enacted by an individual, but realizing the value in allowing a world leader’s experience to be part of campus dialogue.”

Photo: Max Blodgett