Charges Dropped for Dozens of Columbia University Protesters

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Facts

  • Dozens of people who were arrested during pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York in April had their cases dismissed by a judge on Thursday.1
  • The Manhattan District Attorney's office announced that 15 of the 46 people initially arrested will still face charges. But 30 cases of trespassing were dismissed because the defendants had no previous criminal record. One other previously had their case dismissed.1
  • Fourteen defendants, two of whom are students, rejected an offer from the district attorney's office to have their cases dismissed if they avoided another arrest for six months. A 15th defendant faces a flag-burning charge and a charge for breaking a camera in a holding cell in addition to trespassing.2
  • All these cases stemmed from arrests made after protesters took over Columbia's Hamilton Hall on April 30 at the same time campuses across the US were experiencing similar actions to voice disapproval of the war in Gaza.3
  • Health authorities in Gaza have reported that more than 37K Palestinians have been killed since the war started after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200. Some students and activists in the US have been demanding their schools financially divest from Israel.4

Sources: 1CNN, 2CBS, 3NBC and 4BBC News.

Narratives

  • Conservative narrative, as provided by Washington Free Beacon. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has once again proven he's soft on crime. And, even worse, Columbia's faculty is showing sympathy toward these vandals, who should face prosecution to teach them a lesson. Their defiant post-court press conferences proved they're in dire need of discipline.
  • Progressive narrative, as provided by Guardian. Considering their lack of criminal histories, it makes sense to drop the criminal charges and allow the university to handle discipline. Columbia and the armed police overreacted to people exercising their First Amendment rights, and these people shouldn't have to be harassed any longer by the criminal justice system.