University of Pittsburgh encampment defendant granted entry into ARD program

Requirements include 24 months of probation, paying court costs and 100 hours of community service.

Nesta Simone Collins was granted enrollment into Allegheny County’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program at a July 11 court hearing.

The non-reporting probationary program is primarily for first-time offenders. It allows those enrolled in ADR to avoid jail time and to have their criminal record expunged after successfully completing the program.

Collins was arrested earlier this year for incidents occurring at an anti-Israel encampment on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus in June 2024. She was charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of law enforcement.

She is the daughter of Chad Collins, a pastor at Valley View Presbyterian Church in Garfield and a national organizer with Friends of Sabeel North America, an organization the Anti-Defamation League has characterized as “a driving force behind various Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns.”

Collins’ sister, Micaiah Collins, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges including conspiracy to unlawfully make and detonate a firearm. Her co-defendants include Mohamad Hamad and Talya A. Lubit, who were also charged with crimes related to the defacement of Chabad of Squirrel Hill.

At a May 15 hearing, Lubit pled guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and damaging or defacing religious property. Hamad and Micaiah Collins are awaiting trial.

Nesta Collins’ ARD requirements include 24 months of probation, paying court costs and 100 hours of community service. She also was barred from having any contact with the University of Pittsburgh while in the program. If she is arrested again while in the program, she is no longer eligible to participate in it. PJC

— David Rullo