Charges were dropped Thursday against most of the Columbia University students and staff who had been arrested inside Hamilton Hall during pro-Palestinian demonstrations back in April.
The Manhattan district attorney's office says of the 46 people charged with trespassing, 31 cases have been dismissed due to a lack of evidence. Prosecutors told 13 others that their cases would be dropped if they avoid getting arrested in the next six months.
"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. As ever, we categorically reject this division as one drawn along arbitrary, classist lines meant to preserve the sanctity of Columbia University, not an institution in the city of New York, but always above and apart from it," one student said.
The arrests ended two weeks of demonstrations at Columbia University as students called on the school to divest from companies doing business with Israel. Columbia President Dr. Minouche Shafik then requested the New York City Police Department's help to clear the hall.
#charges-dropped #pro-palestinian-demonstrations #columbia-university #manhattan-district-attorneys-office #school-protests
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