Maryland
University of Maryland reverses decision to allow anti-Israel protest on October 7
The University of Maryland on Sunday reversed its decision to allow an anti-Israel protest on the first anniversary of the October 7 Massacre, following backlash from local Jewish groups.
UMD Students for Justice in Palestine and UMD Jewish Voice for Peace had been set to hold their October 7 vigil for Gazans killed in the Israel-Hamas War at the campus’s Mckeldin Mall, but the University System of Maryland (USM) said in a statement that on the day of the Hamas-led pogrom it would limit campus events requiring permits or approval to those supporting “a university-sponsored Day of Dialogue.”
“From the beginning of the war, we have come together as a University System to urge that we use this moment to encourage conversation, compassion, and civility; to engage with one another across our differences and draw on our shared humanity and our shared values to bridge what divides us,” said USM. “These dialogues aren’t new. Many of our universities have been hosting this kind of programming for several months. Reserving Oct. 7 gives us a chance to continue these urgent conversations and to mark this solemn anniversary in a way that gives students—all students—the time and space to share and to be heard.”
USM said that its intent was not to infringe of the free expression and speech of students, but to be sensitive to the needs of students as October 7 was a “day of enormous suffering and grief for many in our campus communities.”
UMD Jewish Student Union, Maryland Hillel, Terps for Israel, and Israeli American Council Mishelanu at Maryland welcomed the USM decision and thanked UMD leadership in a joint social media statement on Sunday.
“October 7, the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, is a day of mourning for the Jewish and Israeli community,” said the UMD JSU. “We are relieved that SJP will no longer to be able to appropriate the suffering of our family and friends to fit their false and dangerous narrative.”
The Jewish groups said that it was distraught that the decision to only hold university-sponsored event had to be made at all, and wished to used the campus space to “grieve together as a community” to promote unity at the university. The unideal situation was necessary, according to the Jewish groups, to ensure the physical and psychological safety of students on the day of mourning.
UMD JVP and SJP attacked the decision to cancel the event, claiming that the vigil for Palestinians killed since the October 7 Massacre was attacked without familiarity of the content. The anti-Israel groups said that the discourse was “the continuation inherently racist, Islamophobic, and dehumanizing rhetoric surrounding Palestinians.” JVP and SJP said that the actions against their event were an attempt to paint “Muslim, Arab, and anti-Zionist Jewish students as barbaric.”
The anti-Israel groups asserted that their vigil for Palestinians who died in the war was no threat to the campus’s Jewish community, but conflation of Zionism and Judaism did threaten UMD and the Jewish community.
“To claim that Palestinians cannot hold a day of remembrance in mourning one year of genocide, or lay claim to that date is an insult to every life lost in the Zionist entity’s genocidal campaign,” UMD SJP and JVP said on Instagram on Sunday. “The disproportionate scale of suffering experienced by the Palestinians over the past year necessitates their remembrance and our solidarity on this day. The suffering of all innocents killed must not be monopolized and necessitates a fair and just representation.”
SJP and JVP demanded the right to organize and exercise their right to free speech, accusing Zionists of attempting to stifle Palestinian voices.
The organizations indicated on their Sunday Instagram post that they still planned to hold their all-day event at Mckeldin Mall, and on Monday a link to register still active and listing the campus building as the rally location.
UMD Jewish groups said that they would be holding their own event to memorialize the victims of the October 7 pogrom at the Maryland Hillel.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Governor Moore has signed House Bill 1532 — Utility RELIEF (Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families) Act into law today, providing limited relief to Maryland ratepayers while advancing critical protections for property owners impacted by large-scale energy infrastructure projects.
Several Republican-led amendments aimed at delivering broader, long-term cost savings for Maryland families were ultimately rejected, including:
• Ending the EmPOWER Maryland Program;
• Adjusting Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards; and
• Withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Senator J.B. Jennings successfully secured an amendment to the Utility RELIEF Act, strengthening transparency and notification requirements for landowners impacted by major transmission line projects. The amendment incorporates key language from his bill, Senate Bill 584 — Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity and Transmission Lines — Notice to Landowners, introduced during the 2026 legislative session in response to concerns surrounding the Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project (PSC Case #9748). Senate Bill 584 requires clear, direct and documented notice to affected and adjacent property owners, including formal notice of their right to intervene in Public Service Commission proceedings, and received favorable testimony from Protect Our Streams, The Valleys Planning Council and the Maryland Farm Bureau.
Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly wrote in support of the measure, saying, “This legislation does not prevent necessary projects from moving forward; it simply ensures that affected citizens are properly notified and afforded due process.”
Joanne Frederick, leader of Stop MPRP, also testified in support of the bill, stating, “Maryland property owners should not have to rely on rumor or last-minute meetings to learn that their land is under consideration for a transmission corridor.”
Although SB584 received a strong hearing before the Senate Energy, Education and the Environment Committee, it was never brought forward for a final vote.
Supporters of the Jennings amendment pointed to major inconsistencies in how utilities interpreted Maryland’s existing notification laws. While developers of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project directly informed landowners and local governments of their rights to intervene, BGE relied primarily on a legal advertisement, website posting and social media notice for the Brandon Shores project.
“When this bill didn’t leave committee, I knew that we had to throw a Hail Mary and amend the Utility RELIEF Act to meet the needs of Marylanders like my constituents, who are struggling to navigate an unclear process,” said Senator Jennings.
When facing pushback on the Senate floor, regarding the inconvenience the amendment would cause for utility companies, Jennings said, “It’s somebody’s family’s home, where they raised their children. And to sit there and say to them, ‘I’m sorry you didn’t get notified, tough luck,’ That’s why we are down here, to fight for our constituents… This amendment can fix that, to make sure they’re notified properly and it’s done the right way. It’s simple. I’m disappointed that this is the attitude we are going to take, when I try to fight for my constituency.”
As he fought for the amendment, he warned, “They’re going to be calling each and every one of us, saying I wasn’t notified, they’re taking our family farm and taking my home,” emphasizing that the measure would address a problem many lawmakers will otherwise be forced to confront.
“The statute, as previously written, was too ambiguous and allowed utilities to decide how much, or how little, notice to provide,” Senator Jennings said. “Maryland families deserve a fair and transparent process regardless of which utility is involved.”
The signing of the Utility RELIEF Act comes as Senator Jennings, and several regional lawmakers continue to challenge the Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project before the Public Service Commission. On April 9, 2026, Senator Jennings joined Senators Chris West, Johnny Ray Salling and Mary-Dulany James in filing an appeal. He later submitted a detailed Memorandum of Appeal on April 19, 2026, outlining constituent concerns, alleged deficiencies in the CPCN process and evidence suggesting the proposed transmission infrastructure may extend beyond immediate reliability need.
Among the concerns raised was a 2014 rendering mailed to landowners depicting a second transmission line designated for “future capacity,” raising additional questions about the long-term scope and purpose of the project. During evidentiary hearings last October, a Public Utility Law Judge cited Senator Jennings’ earlier letter challenging the redaction of project files and acknowledged the validity of transparency concerns raised by affected communities. In that letter, Senator Jennings wrote, “My constituents deserve transparency and assurance that there is a genuine and immediate reliability crisis, not that this infrastructure is being justified by speculative, future commercial needs.”
An independent report prepared for the Power Plant Research Program similarly concluded the project could create transmission capacity exceeding identified reliability needs.
The Public Service Commission is now expected to issue a final order in Case #9748 in the coming months.
Related
LEONARDTOWN, Md. – A Mechanicsville man was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for killing another man outside a Maryland liquor store in 2023.
What we know:
Leroy Christpher Neal, 50, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years, and life plus five years of active incarceration for the attack, the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office announced.
Neal was convicted in December.
SUGGESTED: Alabama man charged after gun pulled in Maryland road rage incident, deputies say
The murder happened on Nov. 4, 2023, at a liquor store in Great Mills. That day, deputies said, Neal lured the victim to a secluded part of the parking lot behind the building, close to the edge of the woods.
What they’re saying:
State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling said Tuesday that Neal “executed the victim in cold blood by shooting him in the back as he tried to escape,” calling it “a merciless and premeditated killing that stole a man’s life and devastated his family.”
“For years, his loved ones have carried the weight of this unimaginable loss while waiting for justice and accountability,” Sterling said. “My heart remains with them, and I hope this outcome brings them a measure of peace and closure.”
The Source: Information in this story is from the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Police said Dequan Gravely, 23, of Charles County, was driving northbound on Route 210 near Pine Drive when his Mercedes collided with the school bus turning left from the southbound lanes.
The driver of a car involved in a crash with a Prince George’s County school bus in Accokeek, Maryland, on Friday has been identified.
Prince George’s County police said Dequan Gravely, 23, of Bryans Road in Charles County, was driving northbound on Route 210 near Pine Drive around 7:20 a.m. when his Mercedes collided with the school bus turning left from the southbound lanes.
Investigators said the crash happened in the intersection, causing the school bus to flip onto its side. Gravely died at the scene.
The school bus driver was transported to a hospital and treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Police said no students were on the bus at the time of the crash.
Investigators said they believe debris from the collision damaged a third vehicle. The driver of that vehicle “declined medical attention,” police said.
The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 301-731-4422.
WTOP’s Acacia James contributed to this report.
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