FBI agents question Kent State professor

By Nick Glunt

Beacon Journal staff writer

A Kent State University professor with a history of anti-Israel rhetoric was questioned Tuesday by FBI agents about possible ties to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

An FBI spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday evening that associate professor Julio “Assad” Pino is being investigated.

“Because it’s an ongoing investigation, I can’t say too much about it,” the spokeswoman said.

Contacted by phone, Pino denied connections to the radical Muslim organization.

“I’ve never broken the law. I support no violence or violent organizations,” he said.

“One man or one woman’s interpretation of events can be very different from another’s. As they say, ‘Haters gonna hate.’ Truth always prevails, and truth will prevail in this case.”

He said he suspects his outspoken behavior about unrest in the Middle East led to the investigation.

“I can only imagine, given my past record at Kent State dealing with controversial issues about the Middle East, some people may be favorable or unfavorable,” he said.

“Rumors start, and that’s the only thing I can think would draw attention from a government agency.”

As part of the FBI investigation, several of Pino’s colleagues and students were questioned.

Among them was Emily Mills, editor in chief of the Kent Stater student newspaper.

Mills said FBI agents contacted her by phone to ask if they could come to the student newsroom, and then arrived shortly afterward to interview her.

“They asked pretty straightforward questions,” she said.

“They wanted to know about some of the stories I’d written about him and the general atmosphere on campus toward him.”

Mills had interviewed Pino, a tenured history professor, due to his anti-Israel behavior.

“They said they were looking into his alleged ties to the Islamic State,” Mills said. “They said it was an ongoing investigation and that they were questioning faculty and other students.”

A university spokesperson said the FBI has assured the college there is no threat to the campus.

“Kent State is fully cooperating with the FBI,” the spokesperson said.

“As this is an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment.”

Pino has been in the news several times in the past couple of decades because of his political beliefs.

In 2002, he wrote a column in the Kent Stater eulogizing an 18-year-old suicide bomber.

In 2005 and 2006, he wrote letters to the paper to criticize American policy in the Middle East.

In 2009, he was interviewed by the Secret Service about his beliefs.

In 2011, he shouted “Death to Israel!” at a public lecture by a former Israeli diplomat.

In 2014, he accused “academic friends” of causing the deaths of 1,400 Palestinians.