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Grad student accused Republicans lawmakers of ‘white male fragility’ during her testimony
A University of Iowa graduate student denied allegations that she assaulted a Republican lawmaker on Monday during an Iowa House subcommittee hearing about a bill to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education.
Abigail Escatel, a PhD candidate in communication studies, is accused of knocking Republican Rep. Steve Holt’s “cellphone off the table and hitting Holt in the arm,” The Gazette reports.
“All I will say in this limited time frame is that I did not touch that man so NO I disagree with the allegations by Rep. Holt that he was assaulted,” Escatel told The College Fix in an email Thursday when asked about the incident.
However, Holt, R-Denison, and other lawmakers at the hearing described her actions as an “assault.”
Holt declined to comment further on Thursday but pointed The Fix to his remarks during the subcommittee hearing. Immediately after the incident with Escatel, Holt told hearing attendees that he was “just assaulted.”
Melissa Saitz, spokesperson for Iowa House Republicans, also declined to comment in an email Wednesday. When asked about possible charges or disciplinary actions against Escatel, she encouraged The Fix to contact the university.
Meanwhile, University of Iowa spokesperson Jeneane Beck did not confirm or deny whether Escatel could potentially face disciplinary measures.
“I do not have any details beyond what has been reported. I can share that all Iowa students are expected to follow the Code of Student Life, which sets standards for student behavior and conduct necessary to maintain a campus where ideas are freely exchanged,” Beck said in an email Wednesday.
Any investigations or disciplinary measures involving code violations are “considered confidential,” and “discipline is based on the severity of the violation,” Beck told The Fix.
House Bill 542, which was discussed at the hearing, would prohibit public higher education institutions from including DEI and “critical race theory-related courses or course requirements” in general education and core curriculum.
Escatel testified against the bill before being escorted out of the room.
A video by The Iowa Standard on Facebook shows most of her interactions with Holt. It begins when the lawmaker tells Escatel that her 2-minute time limit is up.
In the video, Escatel continues to talk despite Holt telling her several times that she had exceeded her time. After Escatel finishes her remarks, Holt asks Capitol Police to escort her from the room.
“This is exactly what I was talking about and [inaudible] kicked out by white supremacists,” Escatel comments while leaving.
Then, she can be seen walking toward Holt. While she is off screen, a clanking sound can be heard followed by Holt saying he was “just assaulted.”
The Gazette also described the situation:
As Escatel spoke, Rep. Holt, R-Denison, interrupted her to say her time was up.
Because she continued speaking for another 15 seconds, Holt had the Capitol police come in and escort her out. As she was being led from the room, Escatel appeared to move her hand across the table, swiping his cellphone off the table and hitting Holt in the arm.
“Let me repeat this one more time, two minutes,” Holt said. “At the end of two minutes, you’re done.”
Two other lawmakers on the subcommittee also described Escatel’s actions as an “assault,” including Democrat Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames.
“There shouldn’t have been an assault,” Wilburn said during the hearing, according to The Iowa Standard.
Another member, Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, also described it as an assault, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports.
“Name-calling, attacking, trying to assault a legislator is not constructive,” Wheeler said. “And if your goal is to try and end these bills, if I was to give you some friendly advice, I wouldn’t act that way, because other legislators are going to see that and go, ‘Maybe I need to vote for this thing if they’re going to act this way.’”
Prior to her interaction with Holt, Escatel voiced strong opposition to the bill.
“I am here today to address the white male fragility that sits in this room that feels so threatened by the idea that there are black and brown intellectuals that know more about the United States and this world and its legacies of colonialism and the very grotesque ways that you invoke a willful ignorance,” she said.
Escatel also said lawmakers fail to “recognize a very complex racial history that was built on backs of black folks, that was taken when Indigenous people were unsettled from this land.”
She said DEI is an important part of higher education and studying inequity can help students develop critical thinking skills.
“The core curriculum is white supremacy,” Escatel said. “It does teach little black and brown children to hate themselves.”
According to her bio on the university website, Escatel’s research focuses on “the history of detaining the migrant child” in the 1980s. She also researches “Rhetorical studies, Gender Women and Sexuality studies, Latina/o/x studies, and Decolonial studies.”
MORE: Despite DEI bans, some public universities maintain DEI requirements
