Columbia University Students Arrested at Pro-Palestinian Protests Have Charges Dropped

Dozens of pro-Palestinian student protesters who were arrested in April after occupying and barricading a building at Columbia University in New York City had all criminal charges against them dropped on Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors revealed at a court hearing.

The hearing at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse occurred seven weeks after Columbia administrators summoned hundreds of armed and heavily armored police officers to the university’s campus in a high-profile law enforcement response that was broadcast live on national news channels.

Police detained 46 protesters who had barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall and dispersed a weeks-old tent encampment on a nearby Columbia lawn that had sparked similar pro-Palestinian protests at universities worldwide. According to medical records, protesters’ shared photographs, and interviews, at least nine of the 46 arrested protesters sustained injuries beyond minor scrapes and bruises.

All 46 protesters, who were arrested around 20 hours after taking over the academic building on the night of April 30, were originally charged with trespass in the third degree, a misdemeanor.

Stephen Millan, a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, informed the court on Thursday that the office would not press charges against 30 protesters who were Columbia students during the arrest, nor against two who were Columbia employees. This decision was made citing prosecutorial discretion and lack of evidence. Earlier in the month, a case against another student had been dismissed.

Mr. Millan mentioned that protesters wore masks and obscured surveillance cameras, and there was insufficient evidence to prove that any individual defendant caused property damage or harmed anyone. The prosecutor also noted that no police officers were injured during the arrests. None of the detained students had a prior criminal record, and all were facing disciplinary actions, including suspensions and expulsions, by Columbia.

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“All these matters are dismissed and sealed in the interest of justice,” announced Judge Kevin McGrath in the courtroom where dozens of defendants and their supporters appeared with keffiyeh scarves around their shoulders, which have become a symbol of the pro-Palestinian movement.

Prosecutors chose not to immediately drop trespass charges against 13 other individuals arrested inside Hamilton Hall that night. Two of the 13 were also Columbia students, while the remaining 11 had no current ties to the school, although most were alumni.

The district attorney’s office suggested that the 13 agree to an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, a provision in New York law that stipulates the case against a defendant will be dropped and sealed in six months if no further offenses are committed in that time frame.

All 13 declined the offer through their attorneys, who are working to have those cases dismissed. They are scheduled to return to court on July 25, by which date prosecutors must determine if they are willing to proceed to a trial regarding the trespass charges. An arrested protester accepted the offer earlier in June.

Prosecutors indicated their intent to prosecute only one of the 46 protesters arrested that night. James Carlson, who is not associated with Columbia, faces charges of criminal mischief and arson for setting an Israeli flag alight before the takeover and for damaging a police surveillance camera in jail.

Mr. Carlson, accompanied by his attorney in court, refrained from commenting on the charges, with his lawyer stating their plan to challenge the prosecution.

A Columbia spokesperson declined to comment on the developments in court on Thursday.