Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff claimed recently that he was a victim of "harassment and intimidation" following a confrontation with protesters in which he allegedly backed his car into one of the demonstrators.

The alleged incident occurred last week when Kotlikoff left Goldwin Smith Hall on the school's campus in Ithaca, New York. Students had gathered in the hall last Thursday for a debate regarding the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, but demonstrators allegedly followed Kotlikoff to his vehicle after the debate.

"After answering a few questions, I let [the protesters] know that I was not planning to engage further, and asked them to stop recording," Kotlikoff said in a statement.

The president insisted that the demonstrators declined to stop recording or following him to his vehicle and then surrounded his car, banged on the windows and blocked the car. 

"I waited until I saw space behind the car and then, using my car’s rear pedestrian alert and automatic braking system, was able to slowly maneuver my car from the parking space and exit the parking lot," he stated. 

The protesters have countered the president's description of the encounter, claiming the leader backed into one demonstrator and ran over the foot of another. 

Kotlikoff praised the students who participated in Thursday's debate, but denounced the actions of the demonstrators, stating the behavior amounted to "harassment and intimidation."

"The behavior I experienced last night is not protest. It is harassment and intimidation, with the direct motive of silencing speech," he insisted. "It has no place in an academic community, no place in a democracy, and can have no place at Cornell."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.