An Open Letter from the Fordham Law Community in Support of Urooj Rahman ’15 and Colinford Mattis
[Add your signature here: https://bit.ly/FLSUrooj]
As over 650 current Fordham Law students, student organizations, faculty, staff and alumni, we write to express our deep dismay with the federal government’s aggressive charging and pursuit of the pre-trial detention of Urooj Rahman, a 2015 Fordham Law graduate, and Colinford (“Colin”) Mattis. Urooj and Colin are attorneys of color and respected community members who were arrested on May 30, 2020 while protesting the murder of George Floyd and systemic anti-Black police brutality. On that day, Urooj and Colin took part in an unprecedented national and global uprising that comprised hundreds of thousands of people.
Throughout this uprising, we have witnessed the Trump Administration’s attempts to distract from the reality of police brutality. This includes President Trump’s conspiracy theories about Martin Gugino, the 75-year old protestor who was hospitalized after being assaulted by Buffalo police officers; and his tear-gassing of protestors for a photo opportunity in front of the White House. The disproportionate prosecution of Urooj and Colin is another iteration of the Trump administration’s attempt to detract from police violence in the US. And indeed, Rahman, a Pakistani Muslim immigrant and Mattis, a young Black man, are convenient scapegoats given this country’s deeply entrenched and violent history of anti-Black racism and Islamophobia.
We believe that the Department of Justice’s prosecution and efforts to incarcerate Urooj and Colin are a gross overreach of federal law enforcement power, and an attempt to stifle and delegitimize dissent against police brutality. Urooj and Colin are facing charges of attempting to burn an unoccupied and already damaged NYPD vehicle during nationwide protests. There is no indication that anyone was in the immediate vicinity when they allegedly committed these acts. Nonetheless, the government has charged Urooj and Colin with federal crimes that carry a 45-year mandatory minimum sentence, and a potential for life imprisonment.
Beyond the excessive charges, the federal government has also taken all measures to ensure that Urooj and Colin are detained pre-trial. Two federal judges — District Judge Brodie and Magistrate Judge Gold — found that Urooj and Colin could be safely released with electronic monitoring and home confinement. And indeed, both fully complied with these conditions. Despite this compliance, the federal government swiftly appealed this decision, and they are now back in jail. By stark contrast, Derek Chauvin, the white police officer who murdered George Floyd, was granted bail.
We firmly believe that the decisions to release Urooj and Colin were the correct ones. Urooj and Colin are life-long New Yorkers, and respected attorneys who have given back to their communities in innumerable ways.
Urooj is a Pakistani-American Muslim who immigrated to the US as a young child. She is a vocal advocate for racial and economic justice who has spent her life in the service of marginalized communities. Urooj has long been engaged in advocacy on the over-policing of Black and Brown communities in New York, particularly around the targeting and over-surveillance of Muslims after 9/11. She is a graduate of Fordham College and Fordham Law School. As a law student, Urooj co-directed an LGBTQI human rights defender training in Cape Town, South Africa. She also worked to assist and advocate for refugees fleeing to Turkey, providing direct services to asylum seekers in Istanbul. In her final year, Urooj championed the preservation of our constitutional protections through her work at the Center for Constitutional Rights and Fordham Law’s Center for National Security. As an attorney, Urooj worked at Bronx Legal Services, providing legal representation for low-income tenants in housing court. Urooj is a loving daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She lives with and cares for her elderly mother in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn where she grew up.
Like Urooj, Colin is a devoted advocate for Black and Latinx youth, and his commitment to race equity has profoundly enriched the communities he is a part of. In 2019, Colin was recognized by Her Justice for his outstanding pro bono advocacy for low-income women. Outside of work and after the recent death of his mother, Colin has taken on the responsibility of raising three young foster siblings and has provided for his family with emotional and financial support.
We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with Urooj and Colin and call on the federal government to drop these politically motivated charges and its aggressive pursuit of detention without bail. Two well-respected federal judges both decided that Urooj and Colin should safely await trial in their communities. The federal government should not be allowed to use this prosecution as a weapon to silence the voices of those demanding the change that this country so desperately needs.
In solidarity,
The Undersigned
* names not followed by a year of graduation or affiliation are current Fordham Law students
Deema Nagib ‘18
Frank Kearl ‘18
Hannah Silverman ‘20
Anita Rojas Carroll ’18
Leanne Fornelli ‘19
George A Kottas ’08, Adjunct Professor
Mary Kate LeViness ’19
Claire Glass ’16
Leah Horowitz ’06
Michael Rivera ’19
Luna Garzon-Montano ‘21
Jacqueline Prosky ‘21
Christina John ‘21
Hema Lochan ‘21
Brian Sarfo
Dylan Nelsen-Epstein
Shanice Harris
Connor Smith
Melissa Brij-Raj
Jared Arc ‘19
Maura Moosnick
Sophia Rivero ‘21
Alex Berke ‘14
Erin Miles Cloud ‘12
Yazmine Nichols ‘20
Sacha Thompson ‘06
Amanda Maisel
Leena Widdi ‘19
Shaileen Berlas ‘20
Emily Miranda Galindo ‘12
Aleksandra Ryshina
Nora Stephens
Sarah Acree
Kelsey Halloran
Elizabeth Joynes Jordan ‘10
Lauren Gorab ‘19
Quinn D’Isa
Chi Mgbako, Clinical Professor of Law, Director, Leitner International Human Rights Clinic
Diana Cabrera
Eric Mathieu
Sylvia Rosner
Vanessa Rendon Vasque-
Kathy Walter ‘17
Chaz Rotenberg ‘21
Alexandra Cosio-Marron
Julia Hatheway
Taylor Carter ‘21
Sidney Morales Parodie
Eli Salamon-Abrams
Caitlin Hickey ‘19
Jessica Carnevale ‘18
Maxwell Kraus
Rachel M. Patterson
Shirin Dhanani ‘18
Lucy Hoffman
Leah A Hill, Associate Dean for Experiential Education
Laura Petty
Kestine Thiele
Aswini Periyasamy
Benjamin Diamond
Jeremy Montano
Michelle Chan ‘15
Aminta Kilawan-Narine ’13
Hinako Gojima ‘16
Melodie Eastmond ‘14
Angelo Guisado ‘12
Ashley Johnson ‘17
Eileen Ceconi
Ridhima Goyal ‘17
Jessie Boas ‘19
Faith Meixell
Justin Peters ‘15
Lura Chamberlain ‘20
Eric Szkarlat
Michelle Avelar
Elisabeth Wickeri, Executive Director, Leitner Center for International Law and Justice
Gina Kim ‘16
Jocelyn Lee
Ian King ‘15
Giselle Alvarado
Laura Reed
John Kofi Osei-Tutu ‘16
Christina Menga ‘16
Yarelyn Mena ‘19
Michelle Avelar
Salley Kim ‘16
Alexandra Fisher ‘16
Prescott Loveland ‘15
Eric Szkarlat
Sarah Moya
Joanna Barrett
Maham Abidi
Wonhee Hong ‘16
Qian Shen ‘16
Annie Harper
Dohee Kim ‘16
Noelle Park ‘16
Nita Narayan ‘14
Michelle Avelar
Ryan A. Partelow ‘19
Le Mecia Ross-Tigett
Paula Sternberg ‘14
Mary Gibbons ‘15
Melissa Aziz ‘20
Oluwayemisi Danmola ‘19
Alessandra Spada ‘16
Akilah M Browne ‘16
Alexander Ehrlich
Qian Shen
Hannah Babiss
Charles Tso
Elena Cicognani ‘21
Emma-Lee Clinger ‘20
Tonya Rodgers ‘13
Tatum Sornborger
Ashna Pai ‘18
Kirsten Flicker
Erandi M Trevino
Lisa Taapken
Lena Bruce ‘20
Yuliya Brodska
Lauren Scully ‘20
Rebecca Susko’18
Sara E. Yood ‘11
Elizabeth Bender ‘11
Julia Bonnell ‘21
Danielle falls ‘18
Lauren Molinaro
Kelly Lai
Sarah Matari ‘11
Rachel Smith ‘20
Cassandra Basile
Kathleen McCullough ‘20
Hilary McDonnell ‘19
Chelsea Gray ‘14
Yating Wang ‘20
Anthony Orlich 16
Raina Duggirala ‘20
Rebecca Zipursky ‘20
Vanessa Toro-Plaza
Raquel Gonoretzky
Christina Costello ‘19
Javed Yunus ‘17
Brianna O’Connor ‘13
Shade Quailey ‘19
Gabriella Weick
Luis Pena-Navarro, 20
Anthony Agolia, Director of International and Non-J.D. Programs
Rajiv Shah ‘11
Anna Singer ‘19
Reem Ahmed
Demitrios Kalomiris
Matthew Treiber
Aishling Fitzpatrick ‘20
David B. Marx
Glen Dalakian II ‘19
Emma DeCourcy ‘20
Kaitlyn Piper ‘11
Traci Krasne ‘19
Mari Byrne ‘11
Joan Abelardo ‘17
Naomi Babu ‘17
Kathryn Lang ‘99
Elizabeth Slater ‘17
Rachel Graves ‘13
Chaz Rotenberg ‘21
Mairead Jones-Kennelly ‘16
Miyoshie Lamothe-Aime ‘19
Raina Duggirala ‘20
Janet Cha ‘10
Georg Reetz Aderhold ‘20
Molly K Webster ‘16
Alessandra Messing ‘11
Albert Oduro
Laura Rodriguez ‘13
Daniel Buckley ‘10
Ami Sanghvi ‘05
Katherine Skeele ‘08
David Mandel-Anthony ‘10
Mohamed Sidibay ‘21
Jordan Kovnot ‘11
Alyson Pomerantz ‘01
Belkis Talarico ‘97
Alexander Mooney
Sharon Hang ‘15
Anna Sacerdote ‘21
Andrea Rodríguez ‘18
Fatima Kabia ‘18
Vi Thai Tran ‘17
Stacy Charland ‘04
Pamela White
Victoria Cassel ‘15
Jennifer Gordon ‘17
Sara Gates ‘17
Jared DaCosta
Katherine Fabian ‘13
Jessica Friedrich ‘15
Aryian Kohandel-Shirazi ‘20
Anna McEnroe
Veronica Marquez ‘11
Jennifer Ferentz ‘21
Samuel Moorhead ‘16
Bina Nayee ‘19
Pooja Bhaskar ‘20
Nicole Price ‘19
Shabhia Aktar ‘19
Alexandra Rizio ‘12
Antoine Morris ‘19
Christopher Pedro ‘19
Jeff Williams ‘07
Marissa Volpe
Anthony Johnson ‘18
Vanessa Vecchiarello ‘20
Russell Pearce, Professor of Law; Edward and Marilyn Bellet Chair in Legal Ethics, Morality, and Religion
Molly Silverstein ‘19
Kelsey Ripper ‘13
Alison Holtzman ‘18
Emerson G. Argueta ‘18
Sue Zhou ‘15
Maxwell Deabler-Meadows ‘15
Stephanie Peterson
Andrew Dunn ‘18
Joanna Zdanys ‘13
Saniya Suri ‘21
Nicole Price ‘19
Daniel Gross ‘07
Annie Chen ‘09
Karen Loewy ‘00
Maude Jones ‘11
Nadia Semmar ‘18
Dilon Goncalves , Administrative Program Coordinator, Feerick Center for Social Justice
Aviva Kushner ‘18
Gilbert Martinez ‘00
Sarah Borsody ‘11
John Montoute ‘13
Erick T. Haman ‘15
Sarah Baldwin ‘15
Maya Kitayama ‘18
Jeannie Nist ‘04
Journee Berry ‘20
Laura Alvarez ‘09
Robert A Moore ‘15
Shannon Dixon ‘15
Marny Requa ‘04
Dorry Gardner ‘04
Artemio Guerra ‘10
Jocelyn Smerd ‘12
Dora Galacatos ‘96
Jonathan Delman
Joseph Krummel, Esq. ‘00
Mrs. Joan Sikand, Esq. ‘98
Mamta Kaushal ‘02
Lisa J Vasnani ‘13
Diana Imbert ‘19
Giulia La Scala
Asia Riddick ‘14
Niccolo Premutico
Kelsey Halloran
Andrew Kirschenbaum ‘19
Aaliya Zaveri ’15
Razeen Zaman ‘16
Tanya Hernandez, Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law
Madison Snelling
Devin Perez
Praatika Prasad ‘19
John Hobbs ‘21
John Santacruz ‘18
Scott Eckl
Niccolo Premutico
Liam Cutler
Christa Coryea
Matt Zanis
Jessica Breuer ‘17
Hannah Ahern ‘17
Craig Shepherd ‘19
Vesna Naidoo-Chinsammy ‘19
Kimya Zahedi
Asia Riddick
Caroline Corley ‘17
Kimani Paul-Emile, Professor of Law, Associate Director of Center on Race, Faculty Co-Director of the Fordham Law School Stein Center for Law & Ethics Law & Justice
Abigail Krusemark
Shanice Harris
Lawrence Coffey
Hannah Ahern ‘17
Angeline Leggiero
Sahar Moazami ‘17
Robin Lenhardt, Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Center on Race, Law and Justice
Laura Wooley ‘17
Yando Peralta ‘17
Darius Johnson ‘21
Lucy Hoffman
Susu Zhao
Jennifer Louis-Jeune ‘18
Daniela Mancini ‘16
Kathryn Neilson ‘06
Sarah Leberstein ‘08
Mary Humphreys
Cheryl Bader, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, former AUSA, District of New Jersey
Marka Belinfanti ‘06
Sylvia Rosner
Angeline Leggiero
Stephanie Lopez ‘11
Caroline Friedman ‘14
Emily Sullivan ‘19
Martha Rayner, Clinical Associate Professor of Law
Stephanie Salomon ‘20
Malcolm Sanborn-Hum
Zohra Ahmed ‘13
Anna McEnroe
Shayonna Cato
Emily Dolgin
Anna Singer ‘19
Danyelle Everett-O’Neill
Emily Dolgin
Negin Hadaghian ‘14
Mariam Zein
Jenny Yakir
Michael Marano
Julia Gordon
David Breyer
Joseph Palandrani
Aaron Gladstone
Fordham National Lawyers Guild
Fordham Workers Rights Advocates
Tom Callahan ‘16
Sarah Brathwaite
Jee-Eun gahng ‘16
Daniel Capra, Reed Professor of Law
Emma McGrath
Zoë Williams
Elyssa Diamond
Mirelis Gonzalez
Annie Harper
Nicholas Loh
Michael Alberto
Michael Marano
Hillary Exter, formerly of the Public Interest Resource Center
Eileen Ceconi
Jeremy Montano
Chris Beall ‘17
Vidushi Dyall
Chris Vaughan
James Hamilton
Inessa Abayev ‘13
Alessandra Spada
Robert Iodice ’16; adjunct faculty
Leah Felsher
Alessandra Spada
Ashley Mitchell ‘16
David Harvey ‘14
Douglas Bastidas
Caitlin Ramiro
Dana McBeth, Esq. ‘19
Mehak Jamil, ‘13
Melissa Romain ‘19
Michelle Gonzalez ‘14
Sarah Brathwaite
Kevin Lopez
Estelle Wagner ‘15
Sapana Anand ‘20
Megi Belegu ‘19
Anissa Adas ‘20
Savannah Price ‘20
Manny A.
Dan Curbelo Zeidman ‘15
Michael Mathews ‘19
Ian Weinstein, Professor of Law
Darius Johnson ‘20
Lizbeth Sanchez ‘21
Claire Cumberland ‘13
Sarah Lorr ‘10
Kelvin Collado ‘14
Lauren Irby ‘15
Kajon Pompey ‘18
Hannah Cohen ‘19
Anna Heim
Elizabeth Ling ‘15
Greg Jacobs ‘20
Dave Krauss ‘15
Susu Zhao
Yelena Ambartsumian ‘13
Abdulai Turay
Saniya Suri
Emma Sanzotta ‘20
Hannah Bernard ’20
Krina Patel ‘19
Cassandra Rohme ‘14
Rafita Ahlam
Deborah Levine ‘19
Ayinde Sawyer ‘11
Abdul Hafiz ‘19
Evan Lin ‘19
Ilana Blumenthal
Anisha Mirchandani ‘19
Claudia Bennett ‘20
Lauren Schulman
Alexandra Kiosse
Alexandra Deitz
Mary Wilson ‘20
Redwan Saleh ‘18
Sean Corrado ‘20
Jessica Heymach
Zaneb M. ‘20
Ben Halperin ‘19
Ashley Garcia ‘18
Amira Privott-Yeiser ‘18
Marti McCausland ‘03
Chandler Michael ‘12
Ben Kremnitzer
Angelica Kang ‘16
Willyne Michel
Mary Diaz
Kelly Carr ‘16
Bilal Chaudhry ‘18
Miranda K. Lievsay ‘17
Hillary Creed ‘14
Julia Hatheway
Erin Shahinfar ‘19
Katie Doman
Dani Kirsztajn ‘15
Albert Oduro
Carmela Huang ‘17
Sloane Lewis ‘20
Sara Buchholz ‘19
Anthony Johnson ‘19
Mike Garcia ‘11
Sherif Farrag ‘21
Alex Forgione
Bianca Van Deusen ‘19
Kristine Rose C. Itliong ‘20
Cecilia Culverhouse ‘08
Stephanie Chery ‘15
Isabella Abelite ‘20
Claire Abrahamson ‘20
Joshua Kelly ‘19
Christina Bai
Lisa Gary ‘10
Sheuvaun Vernon ‘16
Jocelyn Ng
Anthony Damelio
Yarelyn Mena ‘20
Maraiya Hakeem ‘17
Alex Stone ‘14
Laura Mondragon ‘11
Vani Upadhyaya ‘19
Deborah Mantell ‘07
Savannah Madley
Kaylia Gilphilin ‘19
Marc Epstein ‘15
Lauren Ammons ‘17
Mollie Cearley ‘17
Christa Coryea
Ahbra Moses ‘14
Meghan Newcomer ‘14
Austen Ishii ‘15
Natasha Demosthene ‘03
Aisha Baruni, Director of Public Interest Scholars & Counseling, Publci Interest Resource Center
Mallory Chandler ‘19
Tabitha Reynoso, Administrator
Earl Antonio Wilson, Esq. ‘05
Gemma Solimene, Clinical Associate Professor of Law
Jeff Kinkle ‘16
Denae Kassotis ‘19
Amit Aulakh ‘11
Aviva Nusbaum ‘14
Sonia Allahdad ‘19
Keith Hoffmann ‘14
Willyne Michel ‘18
Saraswati Tomar ‘13
Sydney Lim ‘18
Meghan Spillane ‘08
David O’Brien ‘16
Michael Zimmerman ‘12
Jessica Jenkins ‘10
Bill Roegge ‘14
Jessica Rose ‘01
Cesar Cardenas ‘06
Bianca Corrado ‘19
Michael W. Martin ’92, Associate Dean for Experiential Education, Director of Clinical Programs, and Clinical Professor of Law
Brandon Ruben ‘16
David R Levy ‘12
Tracy Tang ‘01
Meredith J. McBride ‘18
Anthoula Vasiliou ‘19
Jenny Yun ‘05
Jake Hays ‘17
Janice Fajardo ‘95
Caroline Lapidus ‘09
Sofia Linarte ‘15
Maddison Levine ‘20
Jack Pace ‘98
Amy Loprest ‘95
Guillermo Farias ‘15
Vianka Abreu ‘21
Alison Wininger ‘10
Kristin Hiensch ‘06
Alana Roth ‘12
Susan Chung ‘01
Sajia Hanif
Aryan Hawkins ‘14
Lucinda Saunders O’Hanlon ‘02
Vikram Paul ‘19
Fordham Law Defenders
Alexandra Fuhr ‘18
Mahnoor Misbah ‘18
Katrina Baker ‘08
Janice Chua ‘14
Parul Bhatia ‘18
Zachary Groendyk ‘13
Jessica Eber ‘13
Katrina Baker ‘08
Kevin Winnie
Serena Joyce White-Lake ‘10
James Moore ‘15
Eleni Venetos
Tatiana Hyman
Herbie Rosen ‘17
Jeremy Kossoff
Haleigh Zillges
Lindsey Rosenthal ‘20
Roshni Hemlani ‘15
Alessandra Maldonado ‘20
Katie Campbell ‘17
Dhwani Patel
Anja Gleicher
Thomas Schoenherr, Assistant Dean, Public Interest Resource Center
Corina Bogaciu ‘09
Sophia Dauria ‘20
Ruhi Behal ‘19
Wanda Day ‘03
Kelly Chiang ‘10
Courtney Vice
Kara Rivas
Taylor Norton ‘19
Maria A. Ariztizabal Jauregui, ’17
Rebecca Rubin ‘20
Nicole Tell ‘98
Sunjay Mathews ‘10
Shamola Bonner ‘18
Julie Cho ‘10
Courtney Vice
Melissa L Stewart ‘09
Deanna Cohen ’20
Leila W Morgan ‘04
Daria Brosius ‘20
Heather Sivert ‘01
Nathaniel Sundel ‘20
Linda Jordan ‘14
Morganne Barrett ‘20
Stephen Della Fera ‘14
Charlie D’Oria ‘19
Kiara Pillay ‘20
Tyler Crawford ‘20
Julianne Duran ‘16
Erik Krusch ‘14
Sam Jackson ‘14
Julia Bonnell ‘21
Natasha Demosthene ‘03
Miyoshie Lamothe-Aime ‘19
Richard Routh ‘14
Steven Ekechuku ‘10
Luis Pena-Navarro ‘20
Corina Bogaciu ‘09
Denis Nolasco ‘17
Gabrielle Kornblau ‘19
Theodore Sangalis ‘12
Eliel Talo ‘19
Lucas Cavellucci Landi
Scott Budow ‘16
Andrew Yu ‘20
Caitlyn B. Holuta ‘21
Danielle Rowe ‘16
Linette Munoz ‘21
Priya Pasricha ‘20
Alejandro Hidalgo ‘15
Scott Budow ‘16
Jared DaCosta
Sue Zhou ‘11
Ashna Pai ‘18
Jodie Shihadeh ‘11
Susu Zhao
Gabriella Romanos ‘20
Meredith Hatic ‘13
Zachary Zajdel ‘23
William Lanier
Kate Reinertson ‘23
Olivia Angel ‘23
Alyssa Sanders ‘23
Jared DaCosta
Isabel Hannah Zeitz-Moskin
Jay Jung ‘23
Emily Jungwirth
Emily Jungwirth
Christine Gartland ‘20
Alexandra Rosin ‘06
Kaela Economos, Social Work Supervisor, Criminal Defense Clinic
Matthew Broccolo ‘14
Ashley Darrell, Clinic Legal Assistant
Candice Adams, Managing Director for Clinical and Experiential Programs
Christopher Pioch ‘16
Nicole Mecca ‘22
Tal Winer ‘06
Eric Hechler ‘23
Deborah Eltgroth ‘10
Babatunde Alade ‘23
Sara Christina Brown ‘22
Alex Stone ‘14
Michael Smaila ‘14
Carly Huffman ‘15
Cynthia Cho ‘12
Kavita Bhatt-Kapadia ‘04
Vivian Hadis ‘06
Sharon Balmer ‘07
Cynthia Cho ‘12
Gowri Krishna ‘06
Suemyra Shah ‘10
Katherine Lamper-Radetsky ‘12
Grace Lozito, Senior Administrative Director for Clinical and Experiential Programs
Morgan Larkin ‘20
Mauricio Melara ‘05
Tatiana Galbrecht ‘19
Paul Radvany, Clinical Professor of Law
Danielle Gargano ‘23
Amber L Lewis ‘07
Candace Sena ‘22
Natalie A. Turchi ‘16
Rachel Bracken ‘07
S. Scott Miller ‘12
Tricia B. Reilly, Esq. ‘19
Yessica Yi ‘13
Jessica Farr ‘11
Kizzy Jarashow ‘07
Jonathan Forgang ‘10
Michelle Orchard
Leeanne McIntyre
Sharad Khemani ’05, Faculty
Jonathan Park ‘13
Nicole Abene ‘15
Peter Torre ‘14
Olivier Sylvain, Professor of Law
Nicole Washienko ‘07
Idalys Nunez ‘17
Ben Bloodstein ‘20
Catherine Schaefer ‘20
Milana Dostanitch ‘14
Alice Goldenberg ‘15
Dana Swanson ‘15
Shona Bolger ‘21
Alessandra Spada
Sherry Rodriguez ‘13
Ilene Goodman ‘14
Jordan Peterson ‘21
