39 additional UCI protesters face misdemeanor charges for pro-Palestinian demonstration
Orange County prosecutors have filed misdemeanor charges against 39 additional protesters who failed to disperse after a May 15 pro-Palestinian protest at UC Irvine was deemed unlawful by Irvine police.
The additional defendants were sent letters with orders to appear at the Orange County Central Justice Center in November or December, where they may enter pleas to the charges.
All but one of the 39 face a charge of failure to disperse, prosecutors said. Two were also charged with resisting arrest.
A 40th new defendant faces misdemeanor charges of vandalism and resisting arrest.
The 40 defendants are 19 to 49 years old. Most are from Orange County, with some from Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties and one was identified as an Ohio resident.
“The right to peaceful assembly is a constitutional right and we encourage protesters to exercise their right to peaceful assembly on any issue,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “However, criminal activity (that) transcends peaceful assembly will not be tolerated.”
In mid-September, prosecutors announced that misdemeanor charges were being filed against 10 protesters related to the protest at UC Irvine.
In all, the 50 defendants include two UCI professors, a teaching assistant, 26 students and 21 others.
The original 10 were charged with failure to disperse, while two were also charged with resisting arrest. These 10 defendants were scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, Oct. 16, when they may enter pleas.
In court, most of those 10, if not all, would likely be eligible for a court diversion program rather than face time behind bars.
UCI officials have not made clear what impact the charges would have on the status of those who are UC Irvine faculty members or students, and whether the criminal charges or a conviction would jeopardize any of their academic careers.
The UCI demonstration came in the midst of a wave of protests at college campuses across the country related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Tents on the campus erected by protesters stood for two weeks, beginning in late April. Those in the camps asked the university to divest from companies and institutions with ties to Israel and weapon manufacturers, to support an end to the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, and to reinvest funds toward students and workers. There were other demands as well.
The confrontation between protesters and police was sparked after the crowd swelled to a reported 500 people on the afternoon of May 15, and a small group barricaded themselves inside the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall, a building adjacent to an encampment.
Officers in riot gear from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies were involved in clearing the group from the lecture hall, as well as those in the encampment. Officers took 47 people, including 27 students, into custody. The students were later placed on interim suspension by the university.
After the crackdown, UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman said he was “brokenhearted,” saying the university had exhausted all possible alternatives before resorting to police intervention.
The decision to call in law enforcement drew criticism from some faculty members, who argued it had violated the protester’s right to free speech and assembly and had jeopardized their workplace safety.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.