TOJudicial authorities dismissed charges against 46 arrested people during a protest on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, according to Travis County Prosecutor Delia Garza. This action was taken after legal concerns raised by the defense regarding the probable cause warrants used for the arrests.
Texas police, responding to requests from UT Austin President Jay Hartzell and Gov. Greg Abbott, characterized the protest as violent and anti-Semitic.
During the eviction attempt by the police authorities, dozens of protesters were arrested on charges of criminal trespass or disorderly conduct, both considered misdemeanors. However, on Thursday, the university mentioned that about half of those arrested were not members of the UT community.
Of the remaining group of people whose charges were not dismissed, most seem to be university students. According to probable cause documents obtained by KUTseven of the 11 people arrested who still face charges match names of students listed in the UT directory.
What was the reaction to the dismissal of charges against those arrested in Texas?
The dismissal of charges against most of those arrested reflects a recognition of Possible Deficiencies in Probable Cause Documents presented by the authorities to justify the arrests. Delia Garza assured that her office will continue to review each case individually to determine if prosecution is appropriate from a factual and legal point of view.
Police officers arrest a protester Thursday during a pro-Palestinian protest against the war in Gaza at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Photo:Getty Images
On the other hand, the reaction within the student community and more broadly in the Jewish community was mixed. Texas Hillel, the Jewish student union, He described the protests as “hateful”especially considering that they occurred during the Jewish Passover celebration.
The university announced a second day of protestsreflecting the students’ persistence in their call for UT Austin to distance itself from arms companies and American and Israeli companies that profit from the conflict in Gaza.
