Manhattan DA drops criminal cases against 30 Columbia student and staff protesters

A Manhattan judge on Thursday dismissed and sealed 30 criminal cases against students and staff at Columbia University who were accused of occupying a campus building during a demonstration against the Israel-Hamas war this past spring.

The DA’s office said in court that it lacked evidence, because surveillance cameras were covered almost immediately after protesters entered Hamilton Hall. Prosecutors said that no police officers were harmed during the arrests and that the students and staff whose cases were dismissed are already facing disciplinary proceedings.

Supporters crowded the gallery of the second-floor Manhattan courtroom during the proceedings, which lasted less than 20 minutes. Many covered their faces with COVID-19 masks and wore keffiyehs. Afterwards, defendants whose cases were dismissed met with their attorneys while supporters decorated t-shirts, ate pizza and chanted “free Palestine” in a nearby park.

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