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WASHINGTON:\u00a0Charges\u00a0against\u00a0five former and current\u00a0Stanford\u00a0University students will be dismissed in relation to a\u00a02024\u00a0pro-Palestinian\u00a0demonstration\u00a0in which\u00a0protesters\u00a0barricaded themselves\u00a0inside the\u00a0school president’s office.<\/p>\n
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said on Monday it would dismiss the\u00a0charges\u00a0if the five defendants completed 100 hours of community service each and paid about $52,000 combined in restitution to the university.<\/p>\n
Santa Clara County Deputy Public Defender Avi Singh, who represented one of the defendants, said all had \u201cmade full restitution and agreed to complete substantial community service so they can move forward with their lives,\u201d according to the San Francisco Chronicle.<\/p>\n
A judge declared a mistrial in February in the case after jurors could not reach a verdict. Twelve\u00a0protesters were initially charged with felony vandalism. Seven of them previously accepted plea deals or diversion\u00a0programs.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said at the time the\u00a0charges\u00a0were 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 \u201cextensive\u201d damage.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0charges\u00a0were among the most serious\u00a0against\u00a0participants in the 2024\u00a0pro-Palestinian\u00a0protest 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.<\/p>\n
Protesters had renamed the building \u201cDr. Adnan\u2019s Office\u201d after\u00a0Adnan Al-Bursh, a\u00a0Palestinian\u00a0doctor who died in an Israeli prison after months of detention.<\/p>\n
Over 3,000 people were arrested during the 2024 US\u00a0pro-Palestinian\u00a0protest movement, according to media tallies. Some students faced\u00a0suspension,\u00a0expulsion\u00a0and the revocation of their degrees.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n