Activist Lisa Fithian Dubbed “Professional Agitator” Amid Columbia University Protest
NEW YORK, NY— The New York City Police Department confirmed tonight that a well known professional agitator, also known as a protest consultant has been identified at Columbia University.
Amidst a sea of youg college students at the protest, breaking into a building and denying Jewish students access to the campus, was an eldery woman taunting the protesters and inciting them.
Police identified the woman as Lisa Fithian. She credits herself with ‘shutting down the CIA’, occupying Wall Street, and other major protests in recent American history.
She brags in her book, Shut it Down that she is ‘living proof’ that she can ‘radically transform the ills of our society’ through protest.
Fithian, known for her extensive background in activism and as a “protest consultant,” has recently been involved with student protests at Columbia University. Starting her activism in high school and continuing through her college years at Skidmore College, Fithian has been a prominent figure in various social justice movements since the mid-1970s.
During the 1980s, she served as a member and coordinator at the Washington Peace Center, where she led numerous events and was integral in the center’s transformation into a multicultural organization. She transitioned to labor activism in the early 1990s, contributing to the Justice for Janitors campaigns across several cities.
In 2024, Fithian supported Columbia University students in their divestment protest from Israel, culminating in an occupation of Hamilton Hall on April 29th. The New York City Police Department has labeled her a “professional agitator,” a term disclosed during a recent press conference. Fithian’s activism continues to span social, economic, and environmental issues, influencing major global justice mobilizations and grassroots efforts like those seen post-Hurricane Katrina with the Common Ground Collective in New Orleans.
