Two young men have been suspended from the University of Virginia after their Jewish housemate, also a student, said he had been targeted and threatened — once at gunpoint — because of his religion.
Charlottesville resident Robert Cabell Romer faces multiple criminal charges after his Jewish housemate accused him of harassing him for days before unlawfully entering his bedroom the night of Oct. 30 and brandishing a gun at him.
That gun did not belong to Romer. It belonged to another housemate, Annandale resident Mohammad "Tahoor" Zafar, who has been accused of supplying the firearm before the events of Oct. 30.
Both Romer and Zafar have been suspended from UVa, and they are also no longer tenants at 513 Rugby Road, the house where all three young men resided before Oct. 30, according to spokesmen for both the university and the property’s landlord.
Neither the university nor the landlord would tell The Daily Progress why the young men had departed, but sources close to ongoing investigations into the pair have shed some light on the matter.
While Zafar has not been charged with any crimes to date, both he and Romer have come under the scrutiny of the University Judiciary Committee, a student-run disciplinary organization at UVa, and they will remain suspended until they are cleared of the accusations against them — if they are cleared.
Like the better known Honor Committee, the Judiciary Committee enforces discipline in secret proceedings. The Judiciary Committee does release statistics, however, and in its most recent report, dated spring 2024, the committee revealed an unusual outcome of one of its proceedings:
"It is notable that the UJC issued its first expulsion in over two decades this semester, reflecting the committee’s need to prioritize safety and wellbeing of the broader university community where educational sanctions seem insufficient and reconciliation becomes impossible."
Management Services Corporation, the Charlottesville-based firm that oversees the 18-bedroom house at 513 Rugby Road, told The Daily Progress that neither Romer nor Zafar lives at the house any longer. The property was once home to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity chapter at UVa, but the brothers lost their charter in April after participating in hazing activities forbidden at the school.
MSC spokesman Stephen Colvin provided The Daily Progress the lease language that forbids firearms at the property.
Another source close to the matter informed The Daily Progress that Romer and Zafar voluntarily left the house after the allegations were lodged against them. Colvin declined to confirm that information, but said residents are allowed to leave when confronted with a breach of their lease. The pair was not evicted, he said.
"As a point of information," Colvin said in an email, "eviction is only necessary if someone does not voluntarily vacate the premises."
As previously reported, a UVa student and resident at 513 Rugby Road claims he became the target of angry tirades and pointed remarks after he decided to throw a party at the house he shared with Romer and Zafar. Those tirades and remarks routinely attacked the young man for being Jewish. In at least one group text chat, Romer is alleged to have shared antisemitic internet memes and suggested his Jewish housemate was not safe.
In his criminal complaint, the Jewish housemate, whose family has asked that he remain anonymous out of concern for his safety, alleges that Romer harassed him both via text and in person, regularly employing antisemitic language and images. The conflict escalated the night of Oct. 30, when the Jewish student says he came home to find Zafar emerging from his bedroom and Romer inside clutching a gun.
Romer has since been charged with brandishing a firearm, entering a property with the intent to damage its contents, issuing a threat and perpetrating a hate crime — the last two of which are felonies. A preliminary hearing in Romer’s case has been scheduled for Jan. 9 in Charlottesville General District Court. He maintains his innocence.
According to a search warrant, the weapon in Romer’s hands was a 9mm Walther pistol with a green slide and gray handle. The search warrant indicates that the weapon had been purchased on Oct. 30 at Tobey’s, a Pantops pawn shop. The recorded buyer: Zafar.
While Virginia law allows anyone 21 and older with a clean criminal record to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer, UVa has a dimmer view of firearms.
UVa does not permit any firearms on Grounds, and the university has been working with lawmakers to try and strengthen firearms restrictions at colleges statewide since a mass shooting on Grounds two years ago left three dead and two injured.
There have been suggestions that UVa failed to fully investigate a report that the shooter in that instance had a gun and ammunition stored in his dormitory — a report that a search of the dormitory found to be accurate.
There’s no suggestion that Zafar committed any crime in purchasing the gun, and he does not appear to have a criminal record.
The Daily Progress’ efforts to reach Zafar were not successful.
There are roughly 1,400 Jewish students, both undergraduate and graduate, attending UVa today, according to the Brody Jewish Center, a nonprofit organization that describes itself as "the focal point in a renaissance of Jewish life" at the school.
The center applauded the young Jewish man for coming forward, both to university and law enforcement officials.
"Using UVA and law enforcement reporting processes, he held the offending students accountable for their actions and made our Grounds safer for all of us," Brody Jewish Center leaders wrote in an open letter.
UVa spokesman Brian Coy told The Daily Progress that he could provide no further details regarding the case, citing university protocol and laws protecting student confidentiality.
"The University opposes antisemitism and all forms of bigotry," he said via email, "and we take swift action to support students who experience threats or harassment and to hold offenders accountable."
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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