By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Ethan Corey, Jerry Iannelli, Meg O’Connor / The Appeal
American college students and staff are being arrested and brutalized by law enforcement across the U.S. for protesting Israel’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip. In moves that echo the repression of Vietnam War protesters more than 50 years ago, politicians and school administrators have sent police and state troopers on college campuses from New York to Texas to violently remove people camping on university grounds.
According to a nationwide review by The Appeal, students and their allies have built protest encampments or staged sit-ins on at least 53 college campuses during the past month to demand an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, that their schools divest from Israeli companies, and that Israel cease its attacks on Gaza, which have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in what many human rights experts and international organizations have called a genocide. In nearly all cases, American law enforcement has responded to demonstrators’ concerns with threats or outright violence—including pointing weapons at protesters in Los Angeles, firing pepper balls at students in Atlanta, and physically assaulting people in Austin.
Based on The Appeal’s survey of local news reports and student newspapers, police have so far made at least 670 arrests on 18 campuses. The arrests occurred in 14 different states.
Despite peacefully protesting, students still face severe consequences—including potential suspensions, evictions, expulsions, and criminal prosecutions. The latter depends on local prosecutors (or, in some cases, municipal city attorneys) who often have broad leeway to file—or drop—charges after someone is arrested.
At least 43 different prosecutors—and 15 smaller city-level offices—oversee the various campuses. The Appeal asked prosecutors’ and city attorneys’ offices in every jurisdiction that includes a university encampment if they plan to prosecute or dismiss charges against protesters. Sixteen offices responded. As of press time, only two offices said they would not charge people for peacefully protesting.
“This office is not interested in prosecuting people for exercising their First Amendment rights,” a spokesperson for Sam Bregman, the prosecutor for Bernalillo County, New Mexico, stated. Bregman’s county includes the University of Mexico’s Albuquerque campus.
Matthew Van Houten, the prosecutor overseeing Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, offered a similar statement.
“As a general policy, I have stated that the Tompkins County DA’s Office will not prosecute students, faculty, and other demonstrators who are arrested during protests,” he said via email.
At least one office, that of Travis County, Texas, Attorney Delia Garza, has already dropped charges against all 57 people arrested during protests on the University of Texas at Austin campus.
Of the total number of prosecutors, 12 are running for reelection in 2024.
Campuses where arrests have occurred:
New York University, New York City, New York
The New York City Police Department arrested 120 people.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not respond.
Columbia University, New York City, New York
The New York City Police Department arrested 108 people.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not respond.
Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts
The Boston Police Department arrested 108 people.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden did not respond.
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 93 people.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón’s office told The Appeal they have not received any cases against student protesters, and protest cases are typically charged as misdemeanor trespassing, which would be prosecuted by the city attorney, not the county attorney. The Los Angeles City Attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto, did not respond.
Gascón is running for reelection this year.
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office arrested 57 people.
Travis County District Attorney Delia Garza told The Appeal all 57 arrests have been dismissed. Garza’s office said: “The Travis County Attorney’s Office received several cases yesterday and throughout the evening as a result of yesterday’s demonstration at the University of Texas. Legal concerns were raised by defense counsel. We individually reviewed each case that was presented and agreed there were deficiencies in the probable cause affidavits. The Court affirmed and ordered the release of those individuals. We will continue to individually review all cases presented to our office to determine whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate. Final count is 57 arrested on criminal trespass. All 57 lack sufficient probable cause to proceed.”
Garza is running for reelection this year.
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Campus police arrested 48 people.
The State Attorney for New Haven’s Judicial District, John P. Doyle, Jr., did not respond.
Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana University Police and Indiana State Police arrested 33 people.
Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney Erika Oliphant’s office told The Appeal: “They were released on their own recognizance and given a promise to appear for June. In the meantime, we will examine all the reports we receive and any relevant footage to determine what, if any, charges are appropriate.”
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia State Patrol arrested at least 28 people.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston’s office told The Appeal: “At this time, our office has not yet received any of these cases. If and when we do, we will review them carefully, as we would any other case received in our office. It should be noted that we only handle felony cases, so depending on the charges, we may not have any involvement.”
Boston is running for reelection this year.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Campus police arrested nine people.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she believes the arrests were for misdemeanor trespassing, which is prosecuted by the city attorney, not the county attorney. The Minneapolis City Attorney, Kristyn Anderson, did not respond.
Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio
Ohio State Police and campus police arrested 36 people.
Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney G. Gary Tyack said the charges are misdemeanors and will be handled by the city attorney’s office, not his. Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein told The Appeal: “As with any criminal case brought to our office, we will review the facts on a case by case basis to determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed with criminal prosecution. The same is true for those charged out of the student protests. Our office will review the cases and charges filed. There has been no determination yet on how we will proceed.”
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, California
Three people were arrested.
Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads did not respond.
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Campus police arrested two people.
Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri’s office told The Appeal: “There are many offenses someone could be charged with that would be handled in Municipal Court and would never reach the prosecutor’s office—disorderly persons offenses such as trespassing, failure to disperse, simple assault. Only indictable charges, such as aggravated assault, would reach our office for review. I have no specific knowledge of any protesters being charged with indictable offenses in our jurisdiction.”
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Two students arrested.
Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore did not respond.
Gore is running for reelection this year.
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Four students and one journalist were arrested earlier this month.
Nashville District Attorney Glenn R. Funk did not respond.
Pomona College, Claremont, California
The Claremont Police Department arrested 19 people at a demonstration earlier this month.
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto did not respond.
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Three arrests so far.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s office told The Appeal: “Although we understand there have been some protestors today on the campus of Arizona State University, no charges have yet been submitted to us. We make charging decisions based on the unique facts of each case, so it is impossible to speculate on prosecution.”
Mitchell is running for reelection this year.
University of Connecticut, Stamford, Connecticut
Campus police arrested one person.
State’s Attorney Matthew C. Gedansky did not respond.
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
One person arrested.
Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz did not respond.
Rietz is running for reelection this year and is unopposed.
Auraria Campus in Denver
Denver and Auraria Campus police arrested roughly 40 people on trespassing charges at a protest on Friday.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann did not respond.
A handful of other prosecutors with protests in their districts—but no arrests so far—are running for reelection or higher office this year.
They are:
- 8th District State Attorney Brian Kramer (Florida)
- Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney John Dewane (Michigan)
- Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit (Michigan)
- Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman (New Mexico)
- Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten (New York)
- Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt (Oregon)
Ten prosecutors whose jurisdictions currently have protests, but no arrests, made statements to The Appeal regarding their intent to prosecute protesters.
Dallas County District Attorney Creuzot’s office (Texas): “We have no comment.”
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman’s office (New Mexico): “This office is not interested in prosecuting people for exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s office (New York): “As a general policy, I have stated that the Tompkins County DA’s Office will not prosecute students, faculty and other demonstrators who are arrested during protests. As a matter of common sense, there are limits to that general policy—obviously if an individual commits violence against another person or causes property damage we will ask the police to conduct a full investigation and will make a decision on a case by case basis how to handle that conduct. We have offered adjournments in contemplation of dismissal in an earlier case this year.”
Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris’s office (Oregon): “I do not have any pro forma policy concerning protest engagements. We review reports on a case-by-case basis. We take into account the specifics as well as the totality of the situation and factors we would consider in reviewing any potential case. I should note that last year NSC-131 marched in Portland. The group verbally engaged with counter protesters then committed what appeared to be a violent one-sided assault. However, in part because officers were practicing de-escalation, did not anticipate sudden violence, and because witnesses initially refrained from cooperation, we did not have the evidence needed to identify and charge the perpetrators. The counter protester suffered an apparent concussion. We will continue to review these matters on a case-by-case basis notwithstanding the subject matter of any protest.”
Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Brian Schwalb’s office: “Everyone has the right to protest peaceably under both federal and DC laws. However, there are places in DC where the right to protest may be limited, and the right to protest does not protect violence or civil disobedience. When arrests are presented to our office, we evaluate them and make a charging decision based upon the facts and the law in each individual case, as well as the public safety risks to DC residents. As of right now, we are not aware of any arrests in DC related to Gaza protests.”
Bexar County DA Joe Gonzales’s office (Texas): “Currently, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has not received any protest arrest cases to date. Should a case be filed with our office, it will undergo a thorough review by our office.”
Orange County Prosecutor Jeff Nieman’s office (North Carolina): “We would take each charge on a case-by-case basis, but we would not categorically dismiss charges stemming from protest-related arrests.”
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s office (California): “To answer these questions, please provide the names of anyone arrested during the incidents related to your inquiry.”
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter. Neronha’s office: “If the police make arrests for disorderly conduct or other misdemeanor offenses, those prosecutions would be handled by the Providence City Solicitor’s Office in the first instance. This Office handles felony prosecutions and misdemeanor appeals. To our knowledge, no charges have yet been brought. We cannot answer hypothetical questions regarding arrests that have not yet been made. Any further questions should be directed to the City of Providence.”
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office (California) “We don’t have any such cases. Nor do we have a blanket policy about protests. We review every case through the same lens and ask the same questions: Was there a crime? Do we know who committed the crime? Can we prove it to a jury unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt? Is prosecution the right thing to do?”
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