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Tag: pro-palestine

  • 30 cases dismissed against pro-Palestinian protesters arrested inside Columbia University building

    30 cases dismissed against pro-Palestinian protesters arrested inside Columbia University building

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    A New York judge on Thursday dismissed trespassing cases against 30 individuals who were among the dozens arrested inside Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall during a pro-Palestinian protest in April, with prosecutors citing a lack of evidence.Of the 46 initially arrested, 15 defendants still face charges, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were accused of unlawfully entering the university’s Hamilton Hall on April 30 and barricading themselves inside before the university asked for assistance from the New York Police Department. After being removed from the building, many were charged with criminal trespass in the third degree, a class B misdemeanor.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at the time he intended to look at each case and make decisions based on facts and the law. In the past, the Manhattan DA’s office has declined to prosecute or deferred prosecution cases where large numbers of people were arrested as part of civil disobedience.During Thursday’s court hearing, Judge Kevin McGrath dismissed 30 cases of trespass against those who have no criminal history. One other defendant previously had their case dismissed, for a total of 31 individuals no longer facing charges.“At the time of the charged conduct, the defendants were either staff employed by, or students enrolled in, Columbia University, and are now subject to student or staff disciplinary proceedings,” according to the Manhattan DA’s news release.In calling for the dismissal of charges Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Stephen Millan cited what he called “extremely limited video,” adding that “the security cameras were immediately covered by certain defendants,” who prosecutors have been unable to identify.The available video evidence “fails to establish or prove” the 31 people participated in damaging university property or causing harm to anyone, making it difficult for prosecutors to prove anything other than trespassing at trial, the DA’s office said.Also complicating matters, students inside Hamilton Hall were wearing face masks, making it difficult to tie students to specific acts, according to a law enforcement official.Columbia University on Thursday declined to comment on the court proceedings when contacted by CNN.Protesters ‘unanimously’ reject dealsFourteen of the defendants still facing charges – 12 of whom were neither staff nor students at Columbia – have been offered Adjournments in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD), the Manhattan DA’s office said. An ACD allows a court to defer a defendant’s case – with the potential that the defendant’s charge will be dismissed – if the defendant does not engage in additional criminal conduct.But those defendants have refused the offer, they said at a news conference held outside the courtroom after Thursday’s hearing, speaking to demonstrators wearing keffiyehs, a traditional Palestinian scarf.“We stand here today united by our action and the Palestinian cause,” one of the protesters said. “The state has attempted, once again, to divide us – dismissing some of our cases and offering others deals in accordance with their outside agitator narrative,” adding they reject the division they say is intended to “preserve the sanctity of Columbia University, not an institution in the city of New York but always above and apart from it.”“All of us who took part in the liberation of Hind’s Hall were driven by the same necessity to escalate, to escalate for Gaza, to resist the savage genocide of our siblings in Palestine,” the protester continued, referring to Hamilton Hall by another name bestowed on it by protesters.“We exercised our shared right to oppose the U.S. war machine by putting our bodies upon the years of Columbia, one of its most well-oiled domestic components.”The protester said the defendants unanimously rejected deals to present a “united front against state repression.”The 14 defendants are scheduled to appear back in court on July 25.“The only allegation that’s different is they weren’t currently enrolled as a student or weren’t employed by the university,” said public defender Matthew Daloisio, who is representing 43 defendants.Daloisio argued those defendants experienced the same police raid and got the same injuries as anyone else during the NYPD raid.A 15th defendant, James Carlson, 40, was arrested on burglary charges at Columbia University, is facing a charge of criminal trespass in the third degree from the Manhattan DA, according to court records. He is also facing an arson charge from a separate incident. He’s pleaded not guilty in both cases, court records show.On Thursday, Carlson went before the judge, where the prosecutor recounted how he is being accused of involvement in the Hamilton Hall protest. Carlson is accused of damaging a NYPD camera and being involved in burning an Israeli flag. When the prosecutor described the flag burning in court, some supporters in the courtroom snickered, prompting the court officer to reprimand them, telling them to be quiet.The district attorney said there are ongoing school disciplinary proceedings for the students who had their case dismissed.CNN’s Emma Tucker contributed to this report.

    NEW YORK —

    A New York judge on Thursday dismissed trespassing cases against 30 individuals who were among the dozens arrested inside Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall during a pro-Palestinian protest in April, with prosecutors citing a lack of evidence.

    Of the 46 initially arrested, 15 defendants still face charges, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.

    Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were accused of unlawfully entering the university’s Hamilton Hall on April 30 and barricading themselves inside before the university asked for assistance from the New York Police Department. After being removed from the building, many were charged with criminal trespass in the third degree, a class B misdemeanor.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at the time he intended to look at each case and make decisions based on facts and the law. In the past, the Manhattan DA’s office has declined to prosecute or deferred prosecution cases where large numbers of people were arrested as part of civil disobedience.

    During Thursday’s court hearing, Judge Kevin McGrath dismissed 30 cases of trespass against those who have no criminal history. One other defendant previously had their case dismissed, for a total of 31 individuals no longer facing charges.

    “At the time of the charged conduct, the defendants were either staff employed by, or students enrolled in, Columbia University, and are now subject to student or staff disciplinary proceedings,” according to the Manhattan DA’s news release.

    In calling for the dismissal of charges Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Stephen Millan cited what he called “extremely limited video,” adding that “the security cameras were immediately covered by certain defendants,” who prosecutors have been unable to identify.

    The available video evidence “fails to establish or prove” the 31 people participated in damaging university property or causing harm to anyone, making it difficult for prosecutors to prove anything other than trespassing at trial, the DA’s office said.

    Also complicating matters, students inside Hamilton Hall were wearing face masks, making it difficult to tie students to specific acts, according to a law enforcement official.

    Columbia University on Thursday declined to comment on the court proceedings when contacted by CNN.

    Protesters ‘unanimously’ reject deals

    Fourteen of the defendants still facing charges – 12 of whom were neither staff nor students at Columbia – have been offered Adjournments in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD), the Manhattan DA’s office said. An ACD allows a court to defer a defendant’s case – with the potential that the defendant’s charge will be dismissed – if the defendant does not engage in additional criminal conduct.

    But those defendants have refused the offer, they said at a news conference held outside the courtroom after Thursday’s hearing, speaking to demonstrators wearing keffiyehs, a traditional Palestinian scarf.

    “We stand here today united by our action and the Palestinian cause,” one of the protesters said. “The state has attempted, once again, to divide us – dismissing some of our cases and offering others deals in accordance with their outside agitator narrative,” adding they reject the division they say is intended to “preserve the sanctity of Columbia University, not an institution in the city of New York but always above and apart from it.”

    “All of us who took part in the liberation of Hind’s Hall were driven by the same necessity to escalate, to escalate for Gaza, to resist the savage genocide of our siblings in Palestine,” the protester continued, referring to Hamilton Hall by another name bestowed on it by protesters.

    “We exercised our shared right to oppose the U.S. war machine by putting our bodies upon the years of Columbia, one of its most well-oiled domestic components.”

    The protester said the defendants unanimously rejected deals to present a “united front against state repression.”

    The 14 defendants are scheduled to appear back in court on July 25.

    “The only allegation that’s different is they weren’t currently enrolled as a student or weren’t employed by the university,” said public defender Matthew Daloisio, who is representing 43 defendants.

    Daloisio argued those defendants experienced the same police raid and got the same injuries as anyone else during the NYPD raid.

    A 15th defendant, James Carlson, 40, was arrested on burglary charges at Columbia University, is facing a charge of criminal trespass in the third degree from the Manhattan DA, according to court records. He is also facing an arson charge from a separate incident. He’s pleaded not guilty in both cases, court records show.

    On Thursday, Carlson went before the judge, where the prosecutor recounted how he is being accused of involvement in the Hamilton Hall protest. Carlson is accused of damaging a NYPD camera and being involved in burning an Israeli flag. When the prosecutor described the flag burning in court, some supporters in the courtroom snickered, prompting the court officer to reprimand them, telling them to be quiet.

    The district attorney said there are ongoing school disciplinary proceedings for the students who had their case dismissed.

    CNN’s Emma Tucker contributed to this report.

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  • Columbia University issues shelter-in-place as police swarm near New York campus and protesters

    Columbia University issues shelter-in-place as police swarm near New York campus and protesters

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    Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.Shortly before officers entered the campus, the New York Police Department received a notice from Columbia authorizing officers to take action, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that students began occupying in the morning.Students had defiantly set up tents again after police cleared an encampment at the university on April 18 and arrested more than 100 people. The students had been protesting on the Manhattan campus since the previous day, opposing Israeli military action in Gaza and demanding the school divest from companies they claim are profiting from the conflict.Protests have spread to campuses from California to Massachusetts as May commencement ceremonies near, putting added pressure on schools to clear protesters.More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested over the last two weeks on campuses in states including Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey, some after violent clashes with police in riot gear.“Walk away from this situation now and continue your advocacy through other means,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised the Columbia protesters on Tuesday afternoon. “This must end now.”The White House condemned the standoffs at Columbia and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where protesters had occupied two buildings until officers with batons intervened overnight and arrested 25 people. Officials estimated the northern California campus’ total damage to be upwards of $1 million.President Joe Biden believes students occupying an academic building is “absolutely the wrong approach,” and “not an example of peaceful protest,” said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.Other colleges have sought to negotiate agreements with the demonstrators in the hopes of having peaceful commencement ceremonies. As cease-fire negotiations appeared to gain steam, it wasn’t clear whether those talks would inspire an easing of protests.Northwestern University notched a rare win when officials said they reached a compromise with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus near Chicago to allow peaceful demonstrations through the end of spring classes.The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests as antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war. On Columbia’s campus, protesters locked arms early Tuesday and carried furniture and metal barricades to Hamilton Hall, among several buildings that were occupied during a 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest. Demonstrators called the building Hind’s Hall, honoring a young girl who was killed in Gaza under Israeli fire.Despite the chaos overnight, NYPD brass said officers wouldn’t enter Columbia’s campus without the college administration’s request or an imminent emergency.The takeover came hours after protesters had shrugged off an earlier ultimatum to abandon a tent encampment Monday or be suspended — restricted from all academic and recreational spaces, allowed only to enter their residences, and, for seniors, ineligible to graduate. Mahmoud Khalil, a lead negotiator before talks with the administration broke down over the weekend, was among the suspended students. His suspension letter — which he shared with The Associated Press — said he had refused to leave the encampment after prior warnings, but Khalil said he had abided by the university’s demand to vacate the encampment on the campus lawn by the Monday afternoon deadline.Columbia spokesperson Ben Chang said in a statement that anyone occupying Hamilton Hall risked being expelled from the university for escalating the protest “to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances.”Occupying protesters have insisted they will remain in Hamilton Hall until the university agrees to three demands — divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.The Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors said faculty’s efforts to help defuse the situation have been repeatedly ignored by the university’s administration despite school statutes that require consultation. The group warned of potential conflict between police officers nearby and protesters on campus.“We hold University leadership responsible for the disastrous lapses of judgment that have gotten us to this point,” the chapter said in a statement late Tuesday. “The University President, her senior staff, and the Board of Trustees will bear responsibility for any injuries that may occur during any police action on our campus.” Ilana Lewkovitch, a self-described “leftist Zionist” student at Columbia, said it’s been hard to concentrate on school for weeks, amid calls for Zionists to die or leave campus. Her exams have been punctuated with chants of “say it loud, say it clear, we want Zionists out of here” in the background, she said.Lewkovitch, who identifies as Jewish and studied at Columbia’s Tel Aviv campus, said she wished the current pro-Palestinian protests were more open to people like her who criticize Israel’s war policies but believe there should be an Israeli state.Adams claimed Tuesday that the Columbia protests have been “co-opted by professional outside agitators.” The mayor didn’t provide specific evidence to back up that contention, which was disputed by protest organizers and participants.NYPD officials made similar claims about “outside agitators” during the huge, grassroots demonstrations against racial injustice that erupted across the city after the death of George Floyd in 2020. In some instances, top police officials falsely labeled peaceful marches organized by well-known neighborhood activists as the work of violent extremists. Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press journalists around the country contributed to this report, including Karen Matthews, Jim Vertuno, Hannah Schoenbaum, Sarah Brumfield, Stefanie Dazio, Christopher Weber, Carolyn Thompson, Dave Collins, Makiya Seminera, Philip Marcelo and Corey Williams.

    NEW YORK —

    Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.

    Shortly before officers entered the campus, the New York Police Department received a notice from Columbia authorizing officers to take action, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

    After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that students began occupying in the morning.

    Students had defiantly set up tents again after police cleared an encampment at the university on April 18 and arrested more than 100 people. The students had been protesting on the Manhattan campus since the previous day, opposing Israeli military action in Gaza and demanding the school divest from companies they claim are profiting from the conflict.

    Protests have spread to campuses from California to Massachusetts as May commencement ceremonies near, putting added pressure on schools to clear protesters.

    More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested over the last two weeks on campuses in states including Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey, some after violent clashes with police in riot gear.

    “Walk away from this situation now and continue your advocacy through other means,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised the Columbia protesters on Tuesday afternoon. “This must end now.”

    The White House condemned the standoffs at Columbia and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where protesters had occupied two buildings until officers with batons intervened overnight and arrested 25 people. Officials estimated the northern California campus’ total damage to be upwards of $1 million.

    President Joe Biden believes students occupying an academic building is “absolutely the wrong approach,” and “not an example of peaceful protest,” said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

    Other colleges have sought to negotiate agreements with the demonstrators in the hopes of having peaceful commencement ceremonies. As cease-fire negotiations appeared to gain steam, it wasn’t clear whether those talks would inspire an easing of protests.

    Northwestern University notched a rare win when officials said they reached a compromise with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus near Chicago to allow peaceful demonstrations through the end of spring classes.

    The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.

    Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests as antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.

    On Columbia’s campus, protesters locked arms early Tuesday and carried furniture and metal barricades to Hamilton Hall, among several buildings that were occupied during a 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest. Demonstrators called the building Hind’s Hall, honoring a young girl who was killed in Gaza under Israeli fire.

    Despite the chaos overnight, NYPD brass said officers wouldn’t enter Columbia’s campus without the college administration’s request or an imminent emergency.

    The takeover came hours after protesters had shrugged off an earlier ultimatum to abandon a tent encampment Monday or be suspended — restricted from all academic and recreational spaces, allowed only to enter their residences, and, for seniors, ineligible to graduate.

    Mahmoud Khalil, a lead negotiator before talks with the administration broke down over the weekend, was among the suspended students. His suspension letter — which he shared with The Associated Press — said he had refused to leave the encampment after prior warnings, but Khalil said he had abided by the university’s demand to vacate the encampment on the campus lawn by the Monday afternoon deadline.

    Columbia spokesperson Ben Chang said in a statement that anyone occupying Hamilton Hall risked being expelled from the university for escalating the protest “to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances.”

    Occupying protesters have insisted they will remain in Hamilton Hall until the university agrees to three demands — divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.

    The Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors said faculty’s efforts to help defuse the situation have been repeatedly ignored by the university’s administration despite school statutes that require consultation. The group warned of potential conflict between police officers nearby and protesters on campus.

    “We hold University leadership responsible for the disastrous lapses of judgment that have gotten us to this point,” the chapter said in a statement late Tuesday. “The University President, her senior staff, and the Board of Trustees will bear responsibility for any injuries that may occur during any police action on our campus.”

    Ilana Lewkovitch, a self-described “leftist Zionist” student at Columbia, said it’s been hard to concentrate on school for weeks, amid calls for Zionists to die or leave campus. Her exams have been punctuated with chants of “say it loud, say it clear, we want Zionists out of here” in the background, she said.

    Lewkovitch, who identifies as Jewish and studied at Columbia’s Tel Aviv campus, said she wished the current pro-Palestinian protests were more open to people like her who criticize Israel’s war policies but believe there should be an Israeli state.

    Adams claimed Tuesday that the Columbia protests have been “co-opted by professional outside agitators.” The mayor didn’t provide specific evidence to back up that contention, which was disputed by protest organizers and participants.

    NYPD officials made similar claims about “outside agitators” during the huge, grassroots demonstrations against racial injustice that erupted across the city after the death of George Floyd in 2020. In some instances, top police officials falsely labeled peaceful marches organized by well-known neighborhood activists as the work of violent extremists.

    Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press journalists around the country contributed to this report, including Karen Matthews, Jim Vertuno, Hannah Schoenbaum, Sarah Brumfield, Stefanie Dazio, Christopher Weber, Carolyn Thompson, Dave Collins, Makiya Seminera, Philip Marcelo and Corey Williams.

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