Attacker Charged with Hate Crime After Harming Two Jewish Students at DePaul University

20-year old Adam Erkan has been charged by Chicago police after attacking Jewish students on DePaul University campus last November—Grant & Eisenhofer attorneys represent the students who were injured in Erkan’s act of antisemitism.

College students Michael Kaminsky and Max Long spoke out earlier this month at a press conference announcing a lawsuit against DePaul University. Represented by Lisa Weinstein at Grant & Eisenhofer and co-counsel The Lawfare Project, the two Jewish students allege the school failed to protect them after they were beaten by two men wearing black face masks. The attack occurred in November 2024, after Kaminsky and Long were peacefully advocating for Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks in the country the year before. The attack has been investigated as religious hate crime.

Kaminsky and Long’s attorneys seek to hold DePaul accountable for its failure to protect the victims. The complaint alleges that a DePaul Public Safety officer was present when the men were attacked, but failed to intervene. After filing the lawsuit earlier this month, Chicago police located one of the attackers, 20-year old Adam Erkan, just days later, and charged him with two felony counts of hate crime and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. Long had suffered a concussion, and Kaminsky fractured his wrist during the attack.

“Jewish students should feel safe on their own campus,” Kaminsky said at the news conference announcing the lawsuit. “When universities infringe upon these rights, accountability must be demanded.”

Lisa echoed Kaminsky’s sentiments, stating “Grant & Eisenhofer, along with The Lawfare Project, believe that all students should have a safe education environment without hate and violence. Indifference to antisemitism and to any hate-based violence on college campuses is simply unacceptable.”

We hope that this lawsuit sends a message to universities that students will not stand for religious hate crime, antisemitic harassment, or faith-based violence. We demand stronger action against antisemitism and safer environments for Jewish students.

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