Miguel Sanchez is the Majority Whip of the Providence City Council from Ward 6 and an outspoken activist for Palestinian freedoms. In October 2023, Sanchez was fired from his position in Governor Daniel McKee’s office after protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza after October 7. In April 2024, Brown University arrested and subsequently pressed criminal charges against 41 peacefully protesting students. Sanchez, along with two other councilmembers, published a letter to the City Solicitor expressing their “dismay and disapproval” of Brown’s actions and pushing for the City Solicitor’s Office to drop the charges against the protestors.
Benjamin Stern: What was the main catalyst that prompted you to sign on to that letter to the city solicitor?
Miguel Sanchez: I would say the main motivation behind it was just ongoing conversations with folks impacted directly, as well as having progressing conversations with our own City Solicitor’s Office to confirm that it was within the office’s legal authority to drop the charges. I would say even finding out that we were using city resources to prosecute these students in the beginning was really the most disappointing part of it, to be honest.
BS: Students around the country, whether at Brown or Columbia or wherever else, have been met with some police force during their protests. Addressing the protests at Columbia, a high ranking NYPD officer declared, “These are some spoiled kids who think they can do what they want. No accountability, no consequences, backed up by teachers who are on the same page with them.” I know you’ve been very outspoken in the past and in your letter about the importance of peaceful protest in democratic society, so what do you think might be the danger of meeting student protests with police action?
MS: There are definitely a lot of layers to that question. First and foremost, anytime you bring any mode of police enforcement to any situation, it definitely creates tension. Luckily, the situation here in Providence didn’t reach the degree that it did at Columbia and other parts of the country. UCLA, Texas, Florida—across the country, we’re seeing what exactly can occur when you do bring in forces like that. But while we are extremely lucky that it didn’t happen here in Providence, even calling them in in the first place puts students’ lives and safety at risk. The odds of them being assaulted or hurt are pretty high in those tense situations, so that was also a big motivation for the letter. The two series of arrests at Brown were some of the first mass arrests of students protesting genocide across the country. So what does that say? Is it kind of opening the door? I’m not sure, but it definitely does seem that way from certain perspectives. Just creating that possibility is extremely dangerous, and that’s really the most depressing part about all this. These are students using their First Amendment rights to voice their opinions, to discourage their universities from investing their money into manufacturers that are completely complicit in funding what’s going on in Gaza right now.
BS: Do you see any parallels between modern and historical student activism like the Civil Rights Movement or Vietnam War protests? If so, what do you think those parallels might tell us? And further, what do you think they might reveal about the authorities’ responses?
MS: Just recently was the anniversary of the massacre at Kent State University at the Vietnam War protest in 1970, and it’s really sad to see how we are in a very similar position today. It’s depressing—that’s as blunt as I can put it. When students use their voice and organize against war, all they want is peace. And you have to remember, a lot of the arrested students were in high school during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in 2020 as well, so this oppression by certain forces and governments is something that they’re very familiar with. That’s something that we need to try to move away from as much as possible. It also shows you how powerful the military-industrial complex is here in the United States and how powerful certain lobbying groups behind these kinds of efforts can be. Even some of our mainstream politicians enable it and want to continue expanding it. At the end of the day, though, history shows us that you can never arrest your way out of an issue like this. You’re really just prolonging the problem, or you’re spreading the issue of mass incarceration which has never worked. We need to do a lot better as a society. We need to listen to other people’s opinions and concerns and not immediately start arresting them. I’m also, you know, a pragmatic, responsible, and reasonable politician. I understand that there are certain policies at the universities that are being broken, so they want to have internal disciplinary actions, and that’s completely within their right to do. But once you start using city resources and government power to oppress certain populations and voices because you as a university might disagree with it, that’s when I take issue with it—that’s why I signed on to this letter, and that’s why I will keep speaking up against these injustices.
BS: Did the support you were putting forth for students play into your decision to sign on to that letter in any way, or was the intention more simply to send that message out more generally?
MS: I wouldn’t say it’s either/or. Obviously as a younger person myself, I have a little more affection for the younger population. But as a politician, I do what’s right, and that’s really the main responsibility as an elected official of the people of Providence. The message isn’t an unpopular one among the masses of the general population. It might be unpopular in political circles or in mainstream media, but we’ve got nothing but support from our constituents. When there is any concern from our constituents, we address it. We have conversations, we meet up for a coffee, and we pick up the phone. We don’t dance away or back off of any sort of criticism because that’s how we grow as a population, as human beings, and as a city. It’s something that we’ve seen throughout history: students using their collective power to stand up against atrocities. And that’s something that we’ll keep supporting at the end of the day.
BS: In October, you were fired from your position in Governor McKee’s Office of Constituent Services after participating in protests for Palestinian freedom. Clearly you haven’t let that stop you from being an outspoken supporter of the cause, but, in your experience, was there any struggle between the risks of potential blows to your career and the importance of the cause you’ve been supporting?
MS: What I tell everyone, Benjamin, is that my biggest guiding principle in doing this work is going to sleep at night with a peaceful mind. I’m still able to do that, so I know that I’ve made the right decision. I have absolutely no regrets. Was it tough financially at certain points of being unemployed? Absolutely. But when compared to the struggle that other folks are dealing with, especially the people in Palestine, of course, it’s nothing. That’s something that my mom has always instilled in me: We have a voice, and we need to use it, do good, put good energy out there, and fight for what we believe is right. At the end of the day, everything will be okay.
BS: There’s been a lot of discourse concerning these protests within the progressive left about the potential risks and benefits of compromising some of the strength and values of the movement to be more inclusive to the more moderate side of this issue, with the ultimate goal of creating a larger, more cohesive, and more powerful movement. What is your reaction to that?
MS: I’ve seen the different debates on Twitter and on social media, and it’s always easy to critique something online when you’re not in the trenches or in the field doing the direct organizing. That’s kind of one of my pet peeves—I’ll never publicly criticize an organizer’s methods of organizing. They’re doing what they can and what they believe in, so I’ll never say what’s right or what’s wrong. On a more broad scope, it is important to grow the movement in terms of bringing in more people, and there are obviously more strategic ways of direct organizing that will amplify your message without pushing people away from the cause. That being said, I think there’s always going to be that criticism of those opinions because they’re the easy thing to do.
BS: Lastly, if there’s anything you feel like you haven’t yet said that you wanted to share, whether to Brown students, to the University itself, or really to anyone on a larger scale, I just wanted to give you that opportunity at the end.
MS: We all have a role in this, whether you’re in elected office, you’re a student at Brown, or you’re a Brown administrator. Keep supporting and encouraging folks to speak up and do what they think is right. Keep putting pressure on our federal government because that’s where all this starts. We’re still sending billions of dollars of unconditional aid after months of killing and massacres. So that’s my main message. Keep doing what you think is right.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.