Biography
Nemet Alrawajfeh is an Arab American activist and community worker from Akron, Ohio, who was pursuing a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology at Kent State University while working as an Employment Relationship Specialist at the Akron Urban League, a civil rights organization. She previously conducted research in the Middle East on women's development and worked as a Housing Specialist at the Miller Community House. On July 6, 2022, at approximately 10:50 PM, she was arrested by the Akron Police Department during protests that swept through downtown Akron in response to the police killing of Jayland Walker — a 25-year-old Black man shot 60 times by eight Akron officers on June 27, 2022. She was charged with riot, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct, and misrepresenting identification. Alrawajfeh was booked and held in custody along with dozens of other protesters arrested between July 3 and 7; according to the subsequent civil rights lawsuit, officers issued "copy-and-paste" arrest complaints and protesters were "jailed and held at least through the following day." She became one of 24 named plaintiffs in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Akron, Mayor Daniel Horrigan, and Akron Police officers, alleging unlawful arrest, excessive force, use of tear gas and pepper spray, and suppression of First Amendment rights. The lawsuit alleged "loss of liberty" and other harms for all plaintiffs. The criminal charges against her were eventually dismissed after nearly a year of litigation. In early 2024, the City of Akron agreed to pay $747,000 to settle the civil rights claims brought by 22 of the 24 plaintiffs, acknowledging the unconstitutional nature of the mass arrests during the Jayland Walker protests.