Crime

Man who threatened pro-Palestinian protesters in Cambridge facing assault charge

The North Billerica man is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and a civil rights violation.

Demonstrators gather on Cambridge Common to protest Harvard's stance on the war in Gaza and show support for the Palestinian people in April. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

By Molly Farrar

September 4, 2025

2 minutes to read

A man who appeared to brandish a hatchet at Pro-Palestinian protesters in Cambridge last month is now facing charges related to the incident, according to a local organization and court records.

Matthew Freeman, of North Billerica, is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and a civil rights violation, according to court records filed in Cambridge District Court. He allegedly assaulted Fawaz Abusharkh and other “unknown victims” with a Black Audi car.

Freeman appears to be the same man, driving an Audi, seen in an expletive-laced video threatening protesters with what appeared to be a hatchet. In a video shared by protest organizers, the man said he would “f–ing kill” protesters, whom he referred to as “Nazis,” and used a homophobic slur.

Protesters, organized by Palestinian Youth Movement’s Boston chapter and the Boston Coalition for Palestine, gathered Aug. 10 in the Cambridge Common for the “Rise Up for Gaza” march. The protesters appeared to march towards the center of Harvard Square, lining Massachusetts Avenue and Brattle Street in the video.

The state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-MA, is representing Abusharkh, who was allegedly struck by the car door “when he opened it to menace protesters with his axe,” the organization said.

Freeman was first charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, according to court records filed Aug. 15. Prosecutors then added the civil rights violation, which is a misdemeanor, Sept. 2, according to court records.

“We are pleased that the Middlesex County District Attorney recognized this violent incident for what it was and charged Freeman accordingly,” CAIR-MA Legal Director Barbara Dougan said. “The protesters in Harvard Square were doing what Americans across the country are doing: exercising their constitutional right to demand an end to the U.S. financed genocide in Gaza.”

Abusharkh, a Palestinian man born in Gaza, said Freeman’s “rage was off the charts.”

“I have been involved in hundreds of demonstrations over the years, calling for Palestinian human rights and freedom in their own state, but I have never seen anything like this,” Abusharkh said. “This kind of dangerous behavior needs to be taken very seriously.”

The Middlesex County DA did not return a request for comment Thursday evening. A phone message left with Freeman’s lawyer was not returned Thursday evening.