Orange County Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Charges in Pro-Palestinian Protest Case
A judge in Orange County Superior Court ruled against dismissing charges against three individuals accused of disobeying a police order during a pro-Palestinian protest at UC Irvine last May. The case will now proceed to a jury trial next week, where the constitutionality of the police action will be determined. The defendants face misdemeanor failure to disperse charges.
The protest involved a two-week encampment starting late April 2024, with demonstrators demanding the university divest from companies tied to Israel and weapons makers, end support for the occupation of Gaza, and redirect funds to students and workers. By May 15th, the crowd had grown to about five hundred people.
Defense lawyers argue that the dispersal order violated First Amendment rights and was not based on real violence or danger, as police waited over two hours before making arrests. Prosecutors counter that evidence of potential violence justified the move, with officers from more than a dozen agencies clearing the site after some barricaded a nearby lecture hall.
Around fifty people faced similar charges from the protest, part of nationwide campus actions over the Israel-Hamas war. More than forty have resolved their cases through diversion programs, avoiding convictions or jail time. University leaders say they tried all other options first.
One defendants lawyer also claims his client was a freelance reporter covering the event, exempt under state law from the charges. The judge deferred that argument for trial, set to start next week in Santa Ana.
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