Col. Michael Clark – TCO Intel
As the manhunt continues for the Brown University killer, the Ivy League school is coming under heavy fire for apparently scrubbing its webpage of student assistant Mustapha Kharbouch, whom some claim has the same build and gait as the person of interest for whom police in Providence, Rhode Island, have been searching.
“Speculation is SWIRLING after Brown University allegedly SCRUBS Free Palestine activist Mustapha Kharbouch from their webpage,” said Eric Daugherty of RightLine News.
PJMedia reports: “Internet sleuths quickly noticed that Brown was quietly pulling down webpages connected to student assistant Mustapha Kharbouch, leaving many to wonder if there’s a connection between their actions and the investigation.
“Archived versions of those pages described Kharbouch as a queer Palestinian activist, a third-generation Palestinian refugee born and raised in Lebanon, a ‘Free Palestine’ and LGBTQ activist with preferred pronouns, whom the university prominently celebrated on its website.”
All references to Mustapha Kharbouch have been removed from Brown University’s website.
Archived profiles described Mustapha as a queer Palestinian activist and a third generation Palestinian refugee before they were taken down.
“Meet Our Student Assistants: Mustapha
Kharbouch… https://t.co/psT3e7iNLy pic.twitter.com/zFzafHiDom— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 16, 2025
One now-deleted page celebrating Kharbouch has his personal pronoun listed as “they,” stating: “They are a third generation Palestinian refugee born and raised in Lebanon. Attaining a scholarship to attend UW Maastricht, they have led and continue to help with community-building initiatives and social change roles.
“They are fond of bringing their lived experiences into academic spaces and participating in engaged scholarship. They are highly moved by questions of indigeneity, justice, and inclusion, and particularly interested in the intersection of queer studies with Palestinian studies.
Mustapha is also currently the Cultural Programming Coordinator for the Global Brown Center and on the e-board of the Arab Society.
University President Christina Paxson was asked about the online scrubbing, and replied: “I know nothing about web pages being taken down as part of this. It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told reporters: “If that name meant anything to this investigation, we would be out looking for that person. We would let you know that we were looking for that person. I think it’s just a really dangerous road to go down.”
He wasn’t actually asked a question,” she said, “after taking a few minutes to think, he stepped up to the podium to respond to an earlier question about the Brown University taking down some webpages. That question was directed to the university president and to the Providence Police Chief. The reporter didn’t mention any specific name.
“Why was Neronha so visibly irritated? He pointed out that universities take down pages for all sorts of reasons. Yes, and a response could have ended the speculation. Instead, officials claimed no knowledge of why the pages were removed. It’s hardly a ‘really dangerous road’ to ask the question, as Neronha repeatedly said.”
Powell added: “He was adamant that if any name ‘meant anything to this investigation,’ authorities would publicly announce it. Really? That’s not how active investigations typically work. Law enforcement rarely releases suspect names before they are taken into custody.”
Brown is now responding to the speculation, admitting it has taken down some online content.
“
.