By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Charges against five former and current Stanford University students will be dismissed in relation to a 2024 pro-Palestinian demonstration in which protesters barricaded themselves inside the school president’s office.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said on Monday it would dismiss the charges if the five defendants completed 100 hours of community service each and paid about $52,000 combined in restitution to the university.
Santa Clara County Deputy Public Defender Avi Singh, who represented one of the defendants, said all had “made full restitution and agreed to complete substantial community service so they can move forward with their lives,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
A judge declared a mistrial in February in the case after jurors could not reach a verdict. Twelve protesters were initially charged with felony vandalism. Seven of them previously accepted plea deals or diversion programs.
Prosecutors said at the time the charges were filed that at least one suspect entered the building by breaking a window. Police arrested 13 people on June 5, 2024, in relation to the incident and the university said the building sustained “extensive” damage.
The charges were among the most serious against participants in the 2024 pro-Palestinian protest movement on US colleges in which demonstrators demanded an end to Israeli attacks and strikes on Gaza and to Washington’s support for its ally, along with a divestment of funds by their universities from companies supporting Israel.
Protesters had renamed the building “Dr. Adnan’s Office” after Adnan Al-Bursh, a Palestinian doctor who died in an Israeli prison after months of detention.
Over 3,000 people were arrested during the 2024 US pro-Palestinian protest movement, according to media tallies. Some students faced suspension, expulsion and the revocation of their degrees.
After the mistrial, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said he would seek a new trial. However, defense attorneys were able to successfully argue that his office should be removed from the case, citing concerns including his past remarks. The California attorney general’s office took over the case.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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