The fate of dozens of pro-Palestine protesters arrested for campus demonstrations that Arizona State University (ASU) officials called unlawful landed in legal limbo as the court dismissed charges of trespassing without prejudice. The move allows the possibility for some 72 individuals to face prosecutions for alleged wrongdoing until the end of April, 2025.
This procedural pause comes after ASU failed to submit the necessary charging recommendations to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, a critical step for formal charges to proceed.
Amid the legal uncertainties, ASU indicated that there might be potential for future charges. “The ASU Police Department is submitting complete information regarding the arrests to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for review and decision on charges,” ASU stated in early May.
They also said, “It is our understanding that while the arrested individuals are required to appear in Court May 14, the arraignments will occur at a later date rather than at the hearings originally scheduled for May 14.”
The arrests, which occurred during a protest on April 26 and 27, have caused significant disruptions for the involved protesters, especially the 20 ASU students among them. These students filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction which the court denied.
Social media posts showed the emotional fallout from students who missed their graduation ceremonies, compounded by previous cancellations due to COVID. The students expressed, “We didn’t think we’d be arrested; we believed ASU would have our back.”
An attorney for the protestors said, “Every single one of them has a record that will show up when a background check is done,” attorney Zayed Al-Sayyed said. He also claimed, “they have to answer to employers in the future as to what happened, why it happened and to prove that the case was dismissed without prejudice. That is a grave, irreparable harm that was caused by the state.”
ASU’s response on its website includes links to media statements and an opinion piece from AZ Central declaring, “ASU’s suspended student protestors just learned a valuable lesson about consequences.”
The university emphasized that the April 26 event was more than just a protest.
“It was an encampment that, despite repeated warnings through loudspeakers about it being an unlawful assembly, was not disbanded by the participants, leading to arrests,” school officials said.
ASU detailed the numerous warnings given to protesters about the legal and academic consequences of their actions.
The school placed Police Chief Michael Thompson on paid administrative leave while conducting an investigation into his conduct during the protests. The investigation is looking into the removal of an encampment on the Alumni Lawn. The controversy around Chief Thompson arises from allegations that he participated in the dismantling of the protest encampment while off duty and in civilian clothes. Many took to social media, outraged, arguing that it was unfair to punish a police chief who, they said, “was just trying to keep the university safe.”
University President Michael Crow applauded the handling of the protests by the school and praised the police response. “I thought that it was actually executed very well by the ASU police and the state police that helped us out,” Crow said on The Mike Broomhead Show.
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Christy Kelly is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Christy on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photos “ASU Pro-Palestine Encampment” by ASU.
