'Slap on the wrist': Man who threatened pro-Palestinian protesters in Cambridge with a hatchet gets probation

"The man who threatened pro-Palestinian protesters in Cambridge with a hatchet last year was sentenced to one year of probation last week, which includes a requirement to attend online classes on Islamophobia. Matthew Freeman, of North Billerica, pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor civil rights violation last Tuesday, avoiding jail time, Cambridge District Court records show. Freeman was charged after he was accused of hitting Fawaz Abusharkh with his car and threatening protesters with what appeared to be a hatchet on Aug. 10. The crowd gathered in the Cambridge Common for a marched dubbed "Rise Up for Gaza.""

"In an expletive-laced video shared by protest organizers, Freeman clashed with protesters in Harvard Square, where he said he would "f-ing kill" protesters, whom he referred to as "Nazis," and used a homophobic slur. The state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-MA, represented Abusharkh. At the time, CAIR-MA said he was allegedly struck by the car door "when (Freeman) opened it to menace protesters with his axe," the organization said."

Matthew Freeman of North Billerica pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor civil rights violation and was sentenced to one year of probation ending January 2027. Probation conditions include court-ordered mental health and anger management evaluations and follow-up, a stay-away order from the victim, a ban on dangerous weapons and firearms, and completion of two online courses on Islamophobia through the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Freeman was accused of hitting Fawaz Abusharkh with his car and threatening pro-Palestinian protesters with what appeared to be a hatchet during an Aug. 10 Rise Up for Gaza march. CAIR-MA represented Abusharkh and said he was struck by a car door when Freeman opened it to menace protesters with his axe. Abusharkh said the sentence felt like a slap on the wrist.

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