NBC's Law & Order took on the Israeli-Gaza conflict last night, showing sympathy for a pro-Hamas protester who is in danger of being deported.
The episode, "Truth and Consequences," on Thursday begins on the campus of the fictional "Hudson University." Recreating the violent protests on U.S. campuses last spring, aggressive pro-Gaza protesters start fights with students and professors in the opening scene:
Professor: Here we go again. Yesterday, there were 15 tents. Now there are double the amount.
Professor Bennett: I'm more worried about the fact that these kids aren't going to class. My journalism seminar this morning was half empty.
Professor: That's because they believe that the rules don't apply to them.
Professor Bennett: Making poor choices is all part of the college experience.
Professor: Sure, but there have to be consequences. President Redd should be calling in the cops.
Professor Bennett: Look, I don't agree with these protesters. Far from it. But we can't arrest our own students.
Professor: Why not? Our own students are being harassed.
Protestors: You're not going this way. Go back the other way!
Student: Let me through!
Professor: Hey. Hey! Leave him alone.
Student: Man, I don't have time.
Professor: Hey, hey, Hey.
Professor Bennett: Hey. Hey. Come on.
Student: I'm cool. I'm cool.
Professor Bennett is later found dead. His wife is a prominent New York judge.
The first potential suspect is a neighbor who had broken into the Bennett home, stolen an Israeli flag from their window, and assaulted a police officer during his arrest. Being New York City, he was quickly released after the incident.
"I mean, you gotta love bail reform. A guy with a history of violence breaks into a man's home, steals his private property, and what happens? Nothing," Lieutenant Brady sarcastically tells detectives.
The neighbor defiantly tells investigators that the Bennetts should have expected a reaction to an Israeli flag in their window. However, he is not the murderer.
The murderer turns out to be a law student in the pro-Hamas encampment whose clerkship offer had been rescinded by Judge Bennett.
A Venezuelan student from the encampment named Daniela Rojas can place him near the crime scene, but she is at Hudson on a student visa and does not want to testify.
Left-wing Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun feels sorry for Rojas because her illegal protest activity could get her expelled and deported. She argues with fellow ADA Nolan Price about putting her on the stand:
Price: So she needs to testify.
Maroun: No, she's here on a student Visa, Nolan. Look, if she testifies, she's gonna have to admit that she was part of the encampment. And she-- she could get expelled, and that means she could get deported.
Price: I know you have sympathy for the protesters.
Maroun: Yeah, I do. But this has nothing to do with that. I'm just trying to be reasonable. Look, why ruin a kid's life if we don't have to?
Price: I will do my best to protect her on cross. But she is the one who chose to protest and to camp out after her school prohibited it.
Maroun: Are you serious?
Price: She chose to violate her school's code of conduct. That's on her, not us.
Price places Rojas on the stand in spite of Maroun's objections. The young woman cries as she is interrogated about her legal status in the United States:
Defense Attorney: Are you or are you not hoping that these prosecutors will help you stay in school and remain in this country?
Rojas: I mean, that would be great if they could help.
Defense Attorney: That's all I have. Thank you.
Price: Brief redirect. Miss Rojas, has any member of the prosecution team offered you any promises, inducements, or rewards in exchange for your testimony here today?
Rojas: No. In fact, I'm pretty sure you just screwed me.
Judge: Miss Rojas.
Rojas: I'm just telling the truth.
Price: Nothing further.
Most normal people recognize that a foreign student in a country must respect the host country's laws. Participating in illegal encampments that block students from freely moving around the campus is insane. All the melodramatic music and furtive courtroom looks cannot change the fact that such actions are reckless.
Nonetheless, "Truth and Consequences" does its best to try to generate pity for this particular activist. "She has been thrown out of school, and she may very well be kicked out of the damn country," Price laments about Rojas' fate.
Her fate is contrasted with the powerful Judge Bennett who refuses to testify about the case because of personal struggles with addiction, leading to a plea deal for the killer.
"Truth and Consequences" never once asks why the U.S. should continue to host a foreign student who breaks the law and participates in anarchy.
This fall, Law & Order has portrayed a "right-wing news" journalist and pro-life activists as villains. But a participant in Hamas-supporting campus chaos is sympathetic because she is an immigrant on a student visa!
