The UF Police Department is still working to trespass an undercover Messianic Jewish activist who sought to bait Muslim UF professors into admitting bias against Israel and conservatives, despite a previous case report declaring the man was “not considered a threat” and wouldn’t be trespassed.
Speaking at a Faculty Senate meeting Friday, interim UFPD chief Bart Knowles said police were not able to contact the man, Anthony Damon Wray, 47, of Melbourne for questioning. As a result, the department is coordinating with law enforcement in Wray’s jurisdiction to trespass him from UF’s campus.
Wray, posing as a Muslim graduate student in his mid-30s who was concerned about Islamophobia on campus, met with three Muslim UF faculty beginning at the end of April. One of the professors suspected Wray was recording their conversations in an attempt to expose bias against Israel and conservatives.
If trespassed, Knowles said Wray would be arrested and taken to Alachua County Jail if he returned to campus. Knowles said police currently have no probable cause to file criminal charges against Wray, but new evidence could make that change.
UFPD didn't previously respond to questions about whether Wray would be trespassed and a university spokesperson directed The Alligator to its case report, which said he was "not considered a threat" and wouldn't be trespassed.
Faculty Senate Chair Sarah Lynne said during the meeting Wray’s actions were “reprehensible” and “it would be naive to assume that this is an isolated incident.”
Provost Scott Angle warned faculty that multiple undercover activists like Wray have visited “a number of universities in the State University System” and urged them to be cautious in conversations about politically charged subjects.
“When you feel like it’s awkward, you may want to start asking some questions first,” Angle said.
Iman Zawahry, one of the professors Wray attempted to deceive, said she was “super happy” and relieved to hear police were working to trespass Wray from campus.
“I feel much more safe that the university and the police department took action to protect the faculty and staff and administration,” she said. “You can’t harass people that you don’t even know based on their religious identity, and that’s exactly what he did.”
In a statement read aloud at the meeting by Lynne, UF President Ben Sasse said “we want every member of this community to feel safe, but, even more important than feeling safe, we want every member of this community to be safe.”
“This is a community built on trust and respect,” he said. “We support each other, wrestle with big ideas together and work to move this university forward together.”
Interim UFPD chief Bart Knowles also provided faculty a list of campus safety resources including education classes, the GatorSafe app and UF Alert, the Co-Responder Team and the Behavioral Consultation Team.
Contact Grace McClung at gmcclung@alligator.org. Follow her on X @gracenmcclung.
Grace McClung is a third-year journalism major and the graduate & professional school reporter for The Alligator. In her free time, Grace can be found running, going to the beach and writing poetry.
