Prosecutors drop charges against 300+ anti-Israel encampment protesters nationwide; expert warns campus agitators might 'escalate with impunity'
Prosecutors across America have dropped criminal charges against over 300 anti-Israel encampment protesters in recent months.
Prosecutors across America have dropped criminal charges against over 300 anti-Israel encampment protesters in recent months.
An analysis by Campus Reform found that 301 anti-Israel protesters who were arrested after participating in encampments at colleges and universities have had their charges dropped by local prosecutors.
The charges dropped by prosecutors range from trespassing, resisting a police officer, occupying a property without consent, battery, felony burglary, and more.
Local prosecutors dropped the following charges:
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago: 80 criminal charges were dropped.
- University of Texas at Austin: 79 criminal charges were dropped. Protesters were attempting to form an encampment.
- Indiana University: 56 criminal charges were dropped.
- Columbia University: 31 criminal charges have been dropped.
- California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt: 27 criminal charges have been dropped.
- University of Minnesota: 9 criminal charges have been dropped.
- University of New Hampshire: 8 criminal charges have been dropped.
- The City University of New York: 7 criminal charges have been dropped.
- Northwestern University: 4 criminal charges have been dropped.
Travis County Attorney Delia Garza, who opted not to charge most anti-Israel protesters at the University of Texas at Austin, said during a press conference in late June that the criminal trespass charge couldn’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, according to the Texas Tribune.
Garza also criticized leadership at the University of Texas at Austin for their handling of the protest.
“The decisions that were made in response to these protests continue to show, as I’ve said before, the severe lack of leadership we expect from our leaders, as they continue to prioritize extreme government overreach over actual public safety,” Garza said.
Monroe County Prosecutor Erika Oliphant, who decided not to press charges against any of the Indiana University encampment protesters, made similar comments, stating there was a “constitutionally dubious process” which led to the arrests, according to FOX59.
Charges were even dropped against Indiana University student James Jones, who was accused of biting a law enforcement officer. The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office entered a pretrial diversion agreement with James, which resulted in the charges being dropped.
Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, a pro-Israel education organization, told Campus Reform that many of the protesters weren’t peaceful and deserve accountability.
”Many anti-Israel encampments involved the vandalism of school property, occupation of school buildings, and the harassment of students and faculty,” Rothstein said.
Without accountability, Rothstein warns that anti-Israel protests will only escalate.
”Failing to hold individuals accountable for violating school policies and state laws communicates that they can escalate with impunity, and that if they do so, they might even be successful. Law enforcement and campus officials must commit to enforcing their laws and policies to the fullest extent possible,” Rothstein said.
Rothstein’s comments are backed up by recent messaging by anti-Israel campus groups in New York City, which indicate they have every intention to escalate.
The New York University People’s Solidarity Coalition posted a statement on Wednesday that it welcomes a “diversity of tactics that lead to victory” including “armed struggle.”
The university condemned the comments, calling them “deplorable.
CUNY for Palestine, a group at the City University of New York, recently released a statement that included a veiled threat.
“The City of New York and their pigs continue to escalate their repression of the city. . . . The city of New York and their pigs are going to keep brutalizing and escalating, and so will we,” the group wrote.
