Dozens of anti-Israel protesters who occupied and barricaded themselves in buildings on the Columbia University campus in April had their charges dropped Thursday. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped cases against 30 students and staff members who were arrested during the campus unrest. Judge Kevin McGrath announced in the courtroom that 'All these matters are dismissed and sealed in the interest of justice.'
All the protesters were arrested on April 30, hours after taking over Hamilton Hall, an academic building, and were initially charged with trespass in the third degree, a misdemeanor. Stephen Millan, a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office, stated that there was insufficient evidence to show that any individual defendant damaged property or injured anyone. He noted that the protesters wore masks and covered surveillance cameras.
