Germany Moves to Deport 3 EU Citizens and an American Over Alleged Crimes at Protests

The Irish, Polish and U.S. activists’ lawyer said the charges were based on convictions not yet secured.

Police officers engage with participants during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Charlottenburg, Berlin, on Oct. 19, 2024. Babak Bordbar/Middle East Images via AFP

German authorities are seeking to deport four foreign nationals, including three European Union citizens and one American, over alleged criminal offenses at pro-Palestinian protests in Berlin.

On March 31, media outlet The Intercept named the four people slated for deportation as U.S. citizen Cooper Longbottom; Poland’s Kasia Wlaszczyk; and Shane O’Brien and Roberta Murray, who are both from Ireland.

It claimed that all four were accused of supporting Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization in Germany, where its activities and support are illegal.

The Epoch Times has not been able to verify this claim independently.

Lawyers for their case said the claims were “unfounded.”

EU countries can deport EU citizens on public policy or public security grounds—but only if they can prove that the people represent a serious threat.

According to British law firm Beltrami and Co., a member state can decide to deport an EU citizen who has acquired a right of permanent residence (after completing a continuous period of at least five years) only “on serious grounds of public policy or public security.”

A spokesperson for the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport Berlin, which oversees immigration enforcement, told The Epoch Times by email that, in March, the State Office for Immigration (LEA) issued notices terminating the residence of four foreign nationals in connection with incidents at the Free University of Berlin on Oct. 17, 2024.

It stated that, at that time, “a violent, masked group of individuals entered a university building.”

“This resulted in significant property damage within the building, including graffiti referring to the ‘Israel-Palestine complex,’ as well as other criminal offenses,” it stated.

“As far as we know, the criminal proceedings are ongoing. Further information is not being provided for privacy reasons.”

It stated that whether “the issuance of measures under immigration law aimed at terminating residence is considered is assessed exclusively based on the requirements of the relevant statutory provisions.”

“For EU citizens, the provisions regarding the loss of the right of entry and residence under Section 6 of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU apply,” the department stated.

The department did not mention Hamas support.

Alexander Gorski, a criminal defense and immigration lawyer representing some of the protesters, told The Irish Times that the claims were “unfounded.”

He said they were based on outstanding charges where convictions have not been secured and that it was incredibly hard under EU law to issue such an order.

“The threshold for this is very high. Here, the crazy thing is none of the people affected—of the four people affected right now, three are European Union [citizens]—none of them have a criminal conviction. Not one,” Gorski said.

The cases are drawing comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump’s use of deportation orders.

Trump announced on March 10 that many more arrests and deportations of those who are considered “terrorist sympathizers” are forthcoming.

That followed the apprehension of a Palestinian student and U.S. permanent resident who was one of the leaders of last year’s pro-Palestinian encampment protest at Columbia University.

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump praised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detaining Mahmoud Khalil, calling him a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student.”

The president said that Khalil’s arrest was the “first arrest of many to come” and warned that additional detentions would target individuals engaged in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity” on college campuses nationwide.

Khalil, a graduate of Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, played a key role in negotiating with administrators to end the tent encampment protests at Columbia last spring, according to the Student Workers of Columbia (SWC).

His attorney, Amy Greer, said that ICE agents arrested him at his campus residence.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the firm that Alexander Gorski is working on behalf of. The Epoch Times regrets the error.