“We have a DA giving them what amounts to a mandate to push the envelope further now.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office announced Thursday that almost all the protesters charged with occupying Columbia University’s campus during Gaza camp demonstrations won’t be prosecuted.
Manhattan prosecutors dismissed cases against 31 of 46 activists charged with trespassing in the university’s Hamilton Hall after police arrested the protestors, who trapped people in the building and vandalized the campus on April 30. Prosecutors claimed they lacked video evidence for prosecution and that the activists covered their faces, preventing identification.
Prosecutors added that since the students and staffers at Columbia, Barnard, and the Union Theological Seminary who had their charges dropped could face disciplinary action by the school, that had factored into the decision.
Michael Nussbaum of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York told The New York Post in response to the dismissals, “This is turnstile justice. This a green light for chaos, a green light for destroying property.”
A police source told the outlet, “Lack of evidence? Apparently body-worn camera wasn’t enough?” Another cop added, “We have a DA giving them what amounts to a mandate to push the envelope further now.”
Prosecutors said they plan to move forward with charges against the one remaining Hamilton Hall defendant, James Carlson, who has been called the “possible leader” of the protests. He is facing hate crime, assault, and petit larceny charges for lighting an Israel supporter’s flag on fire and then hitting the 22-year-old in the face with a rock. He is also accused of destroying a camera in a holding cell at One Police Plaza after being taken into custody.
Bragg’s office told another 14 activists, including a dozen who were not affiliated with Columbia, that their cases would be thrown out if they met certain conditions.
The decisions came after prosecutors also tossed nine cases against activists who were charged with occupying a building at the City College of New York during protests on April 30.
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