The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has dropped charges against the majority of Columbia University protesters who occupied a campus building to protest Israel last month. Prosecutors offered 14 defendants a deal: their cases would be dropped if they avoided being arrested for the next six months, but 12 of them rejected the offer and will return to court on July 25.
The 31 dismissed cases involved students and staff from Columbia, Barnard, and Union Theological Seminary. One defendant, James Carlson, who is not affiliated with the university, still faces two separate charges, including one for flag burning.
The 12 protesters who refused the conditional dismissal cited solidarity with those facing repression in the pro-Palestinian movement. The NYPD had mobilized against the anti-Israel protesters, who had taken control of a building and demanded meals from the university. The campus was restricted and the NYPD launched a raid hours later.
