The Manhattan district attorney’s office reached a deal on Thursday with 13 defendants who were charged with criminal trespassing for their alleged involvement in the occupation of a Columbia University building during anti-Israel protests earlier this year.
The defendants accepted the DA’s offer of an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, which would lead to the dismissal of all charges at the end of a six-month probationary period, contingent upon the completion of an in-person class on what constitutes “peaceful and legal protesting,” according to the Columbia Spectator.
The thirteen rioters were not enrolled at Columbia during the time of the demonstration. They include alumni of Columbia University and “community members concerned about the genocide that is happening,” a defense attorney said during a hearing last month.
The group initially declined the offer when it was first made to them on June 20.
Prosecutors offered the deal due to several factors, according to the report, including age, the absence of previous criminal history, and a lack of evidence, as rioters covered security cameras during the incident.
Last month, the DA’s office dismissed charges of criminal trespassing against 30 protesters who were allegedly involved in the building occupation.
Rioters who seized the hall renamed it “Hinds Hall,” in commemoration of the death of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Demonstrators vandalized the building, breaking doors and windows, and blockaded entrances before the NYPD performed a sweep of the building.
At least 300 protesters were arrested at Columbia and the City College of New York, including 119 people who barricaded themselves inside the admissions building on Columbia’s campus. New York City mayor Eric Adams said at the time that he believed outside agitators were responsible for the protests’ escalation.
More than 2,000 protesters have been arrested on college campuses across the U.S. in recent weeks, according to a tally from the Associated Press.
On Friday, four defendants who were charged with felonies in connection with an attempted building occupation at the City University of New York also accepted an offer of adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. The defendants in that case will participate in the in-person class on peaceful protesting with the defendants from Columbia.