By SUSAN JONES
A married couple from Regent Square has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh in connection with the smoke bombs and fireworks that were set off during an April 18 protest outside a transgender-rights debate between Daily Wire host Michael Knowles and libertarian journalist Brad Polumbo at O’Hara Student Center.
More than 150 people were protesting outside the center — where the debate topic was “Should transgenderism be regulated by law?” — when a loud incendiary device was set off. The explosion was later attributed to a combination of a firework and smoke bomb.
Brian DiPippa, 36, and his wife, Krystal DiPippa, 40, were indicted on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. Brian DiPippa also was charged with using an explosive to commit a federal felony.
The indictment, issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, said, “Brian DiPippa ignited and dropped two homemade smoke bomb containers in and around a line of persons waiting to enter the O’Hara Student Center. … The Indictment further alleges that, when Pitt Police officers gathered and formed a barrier to prevent the protesters from entering the rear of the building, Brian DiPippa, concealed by his wife, Krystal DiPippa, ignited and threw a large explosive firework into the group of Pitt officers, causing a loud explosion and injuries to several officers.”
The protest prompted Pitt Police to send out alerts to warn people to stay away from the area. Several buildings were closed before police cleared the scene.
The charges of conspiracy and obstruction of law enforcement carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or both. The charge of using an explosive to commit a federal felony has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, with a maximum fine of $250,000.
The FBI and its Joint Terrorism Task Force — of which the Pitt Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police are all members — conducted the investigation leading to the indictment.
A Pitt spokesperson said in a statement: “The University appreciates the diligence of law enforcement agencies that partnered on the investigation into the devices used during demonstrations on campus on April 18. The indictment of the suspects today marks the next step in the process, and we will continue to fully collaborate with federal agencies.”
Although many students were at the protest, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said shortly after the incident that he didn’t believe everyone involved was affiliated with Pitt.
At the April 20 Senate Council meeting, Gallagher condemned the actions of some demonstrators who he said abused their free-speech privileges. “Let me just be unambiguous: That is an absolutely unacceptable outcome that we saw here.
“Freedom of speech does not mean you get to throw explosive devices at anyone, including responding police officers,” he noted. “It does not mean you get to disrupt and light fires and close roads and deter patients from hospitals and all the other nonsense that we saw Tuesday night.”
Before the transgender debate and appearances by two other conservative speakers on campus, nearly 11,000 people signed an online petition asking Pitt to cancel the events.
Gallagher said on March 23 that a university is not a place to limit or quash ideas, no matter who is espousing them. The student-sponsored events were all paid for by entities outside the University.
In early June, the conservative nonprofit legal group Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter to Pitt saying the $18,000 in security costs the University is seeking from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the Pitt College Republicans — which hosted the April 18 debate — violates the two groups’ constitutional rights
The University acknowledged receiving the letter but a spokesperson said Pitt could not comment on it because of “an implicit threat of legal action.”
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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