In a passionate outcry, a University of Chicago professor, recently entangled in legal troubles, expressed strong sentiments following the passing of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Eman Abdelhadi, an assistant professor in the university’s Department of Comparative Human Development, took to social media to voice her disdain upon learning of Cheney’s death.
Abdelhadi’s post on Bluesky was unequivocal, stating, “Every time one of these mass murderers dies without having faced any consequence for the massacres they ordered, the lives they destroyed, the societies they razed to the ground… I realize how far we are from a world with justice. Rest in hell Dick Cheney. Your legacy is death.”
The former vice president, who was 84, passed away due to complications from pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, as confirmed by a statement from Fox News Digital. Cheney was a towering figure in Republican politics, having served not only as vice president under George W. Bush but also as a Republican congressman, defense secretary, and White House chief of staff.
Abdelhadi’s remarks come in the wake of her arrest on October 3rd at a protest outside an ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois. The protest, part of ongoing demonstrations against ICE arrests, has occasionally turned violent. Abdelhadi faces legal charges, including two counts of aggravated battery to a government employee, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of resisting or obstructing peace, a Class A misdemeanor, as reported by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Her mugshot released by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office marks a significant moment in her legal battles, juxtaposed against her vocal activism and public statements. As the nation reflects on the legacy of a prominent political figure, Abdelhadi’s comments underscore the polarizing perspectives that continue to shape public discourse.
Abdelhadi was arrested on Oct. 3 outside the Broadview, Illinois, ICE processing facility, where demonstrators have been protesting ICE arrests — sometimes violently — for about two months. She was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a government employee, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of resisting/obstructing peace, a Class A misdemeanor, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
The day before her arrest, she joined a far-left podcast to demonize ICE as terrorists.
“These people are terrorizing our communities and they’re setting up shop,” she said, referring to federal immigration officials. “I mean, in Broadview, ICE has been setting up shop in our backyard. Just brazenly taking up community resources to terrorize this very same community. And so it felt really important to join protesters out there to say, not in our city, not in our name, not in our backyard.”
Vice President Dick Cheney makes remarks to 4,000 Army soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division returning from duty in Iraq during a “Welcome Home Rally,” Oct. 16, 2006, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)
“There’s no center left,” she said later. “You’re either resisting or you’re complicit.”
Since her arrest, University of Chicago officials have not returned multiple requests for comment regarding her employment status at the elite school. As of Tuesday, her faculty page is still live on the school’s website.
The embattled professor first made headlines in July, when she slammed her employer at the Socialism 2025 conference, which says it brings together socialists and radical activists to “take part in discussions about social movements, abolition, Marxism, decolonization, working-class history, and the debates and strategies for organizing today.”
Police take two people into custody as tear gas fills the air after it was used by federal law enforcement agents who were being confronted by community members and activists for reportedly shooting a woman on Oct. 4, 2025, in Broadview, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“F— the University of Chicago, it’s evil, you know it’s a colonial landlord. Like, why would I put any of my political energy into this space? I kind of had a little bit of disdain for people who spent their time doing that,” she said.
“Turns out, I work at one of the biggest employers in the city of Chicago. I work at a place that is a landlord, a healthcare provider, a police force, f— that s—, but, they are, and a place where I have access to thousands of people that I could potentially organize… actually, this is where I need to build power. That’s possible structural leverage,” she said.
Neither the University of Chicago nor Abdelhadi returned requests for comment.
