Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has dropped charges against the majority of Columbia University protesters who occupied a campus building to protest Israel last month.
The district attorney’s office dismissed 31 people out of 46 charged with trespassing “largely due to a lack of evidence,” according to NBC News.
“Prosecutors told 14 others that their cases would be dropped if they avoid being arrested in the next six months, but those defendants rejected that offer and will be due back in court on July 25,” reported NBC.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg participates in a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The 31 cases dismissed were either student or staff at Columbia, Barnard, or Union Theological Seminary. Defendant James Carlson, who has no affiliation with Columbia University, still has two open cases for separate charges, one of which includes flag burning.
The 12 who refused to have their cases dismissed if they had no further arrests told reporters that they “rejected the prosecutors’ conditional dismissal to show solidarity with those facing the most extreme repression across the pro-Palestinian movement.”
The prosecutor said it would have been “extremely difficult” to prove the dismissed cases because the district attorney’s office lacks evidence, including surveillance footage from cameras that were covered up. The fact that some of the defendants wore masks also made it difficult to identify their specific actions.
An attorney for the defendants asked the court to immediately dismiss the charges against all of the accused, saying there are no allegations that the defendants hurt people or damaged property.
As Breitbart News reported last month, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) mobilized against an encampment of anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University who had taken control of a building before demanding that the school provide them with meals.
“The New York Police Department (NYPD) reportedly began a raid on Columbia University hours after the university restricted access to its campus,” noted the report.
“Columbia University informed students to ‘shelter in place’ hours after the university had restricted access to its campus in the aftermath of anti-Israel protesters seizing control of Hamilton Hall, an academic building, in the early hours of Tuesday morning,” it added.
Viral video captured the moment that police stormed in with riot gear.
#BREAKING Police MOVE IN TO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, Raid has begun. pic.twitter.com/SCWZOPDuw5
— Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) May 1, 2024
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