On April 30, 2024 large groups of masked men consisting of right-wing fascists who align themselves with the Israeli government, entered UCLA’s campus and brutalized a pro-Palestine encampment. The encampment had come together just five days prior, in a protest against Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

I am Jewish, my grandparents were Orthodox and I come from a religious family. I did not know anyone like this growing up.

To see these psychopaths brutalizing a group of students, just because they didn’t like them makes me sick. The truth is, I hate them on a deep, personal level.

In the days which followed, a group of us, many of whom worked on identifying the January 6 attackers, put together a new research group and began to identify members of the UCLA mob. We established some basic rules at the beginning that we would share information, but no one could tell anyone else what to do with that information once we had it.

Eventually, those names made their way to the media - CNN did an outstanding investigation which directly led to the arrest of Edan On, an 18-year-old man who donned a Michael Myers-style Halloween mask as he terrorized the students. Take a look at this video taken by journalist Jack Ross that night. It’s one of the most harrowing examples of an out-of-control mob I’ve ever seen.

Read Permanent Record’s ongoing investigation into the UCLA mob attack.

UCLA Mob Investigation

I’ve spent the last couple weeks writing various versions of this piece, but none have really captured what I’ve wanted to say. On April 30, a great evil took place and justice has still not been done. Permanent Record will continue to investigate the circumstances behind the attack.

24 year-old Eyal Shalom, who brutally assaulted pro-Palestine activists and journalists during one of the worst mob attacks on a college campus in American history, has agreed to attend anti-bias training and group therapy as restitution for his actions at the University of California at Los Angeles last year.

Throughout Permanent Record’s continuing investigation into the attack, which occurred on April 30, 2024 when a masked mob of counterprotestors entered the UCLA campus after dark and violently assaulted a pro-Palestine encampment, one of the most bizarre elements has been the attempts to clarify the status of the Shalom case.

Permanent Record has repeatedly requested Shalom’s status, only to be told “Eyal Shalom was not charged,” despite the court’s computer system showing a request for an arrest warrant on felony use of tear gas, and in a follow up email last January that no new cases were in progress.

The news of Shalom’s status only resurfaced after Dolores Quintana, the reporter he attacked the night of April 30, posted on her X account that, “Eyal Shalom is in LA and has been to court,” after being notified by Hochman’s office.

In a statement, the Los Angeles District Attorney only advised, “the arrest warrant is public record,” while declining to answer more specific questions about the case.

A request for comment sent via Shalom’s defense attorney was not returned.

9/17 - Update with comment from District Attorney Nathan Hochman.

On April 30, 2024, On participated in one of the worst mob attacks on a college campus in American history.

Almost a year later, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced in a press release he had been charged with assault and battery in connection with the violence.

The documents are available below for your review.

On April 30, 2024, On donned a bizarre looking mask, brutalizing activists at UCLA’s pro-Palestine encampment alongside members of a mob.

According to a recent investigation by this publication, he appears to have recently enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces and has left the country. On did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

In her statement, Feldstein Soto said, “I want to thank the attorneys in my Criminal Branch for their dedication to the rule of law, and their commitment to objectively evaluating the evidence and referrals received.”

19 year-old Edan On was photographed in front of the Bakum Induction Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel - where most IDF recruits enlist in the military - in late March.

Additionally, a TikTok video posted by On along with the caption, “Probably needed a hug. Went to the Army instead” shows him wearing an IDF recruit’s uniform.

On April 30, 2024, On joined a masked mob of counterprotesters who brutally attacked pro-Palestine activists at UCLA.

Though he was initially arrested on May 23, the charges - despite the fact that the entire night was livestreamed - were later transferred to the City Attorney’s Office for misdemeanor consideration after District Attorney George Gascon stated he could not prove that On’s actions injured anyone.

The City Attorney’s Office has not charged On and did not respond to a request for comment.

On was also recently named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit, along with nineteen other men, seeking accountability for the victims of the attack. Edan On did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

19 year-old Edan On was given his U.S. and Israeli passports back after his defense attorney, Kevin Gres, successfully argued during court proceedings that On’s passports were not evidence of criminal activity.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Liliana Gonzalez appears to have agreed - following a previous hearing two months prior in which Gres essentially made the exact same argument, but was denied. It’s unclear why the second hearing was successful. Gres did not respond to a request for comment.

On April 30, 2024, On violently attacked pro-Palestine activists at UCLA. Images of he and other masked men attacking activists made international headlines.

On was initially arrested on May 23, 2024, following the attack. However, District Attorney George Gascon later dropped felony assault charges and transferred the case to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office for misdemeanor consideration after stating his office could not prove that On injured a still-unidentified victim - despite the fact that most of the night was livestreamed on YouTube. The Los Angeles City Attorney said in a statement that, “the matter is still under review.”

The pro-Palestine encampment at UCLA, containing mostly student activists, was targeted with increasingly bizarre and hostile behavior in the days leading up to the mob attack.

On was also recently named in the first major civil lawsuit concerning the incident, which states in one part, “Defendant Edan On blasted [plaintiff] Afnan [Khawaja] on the head with a wooden rod, concussing and injuring Afnan.” The lawsuit names nineteen other individuals who allegedly joined the mob. Edan On did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

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This reporter’s investigation with LCRW News was cited in the lawsuit, which has not yet been made made available. A website, People v. UCLA, has been launched detailing some of the claims. More details will be available in this publication.

Photo credit: Shay Horse

Malachi Joshua Marlan-Librett, 27, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and hate crimes.

Eyal Shalom, 23, is charged with the unlawful use of tear gas.

Edan On was previously charged with assault with a deadly weapon, but that case was later transferred to the City Attorney’s office for misdemeanor consideration.

The District Attorney’s office also informed this publication in a written statement that Noel Padilla, 25, has been charged with battery on a police officer. However, the District Attorney’s office declined to state whether Padilla was an activist or counterprotester.

A statement posted late Friday by UCLA’s student body president confirmed that two additional individuals also have active arrest warrants out. The District Attorney declined to provide more information on their identity. UCLA’s president also advised the U.S. Attorney’s office is reviewing another case, but no further information is publicly available.

On the same day this story was published, researcher William Gude, better known as @FilmThePoliceLA, received a notification letter from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office detailing Marlin Librett’s charges.

As a researcher who documented the entire attack on the activists, Gude’s footage has played a critical role in a still-ongoing investigation.

Much about these cases remains a mystery. No public announcement was made by the District Attorney’s office, despite the fact that the charges were filed in August. This reporter only located Marlan-Librett and Shalom’s criminal cases after manually searching public records. The District Attorney declined to explain why no statement was made.

Marlan-Librett was also identified in a CNN article in May of this year. Journalists also investigated Shalom, but referred to him using the nickname #UCLAMaroonHoodie. This is a common practice amongst open-source intelligence investigators, who often utilize them to keep track of still-unknown individuals.