Will charges be dropped against UT Austin protesters?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Travis County Attorney’s Office said it reviewed 46 cases related to the protest at the University of Texas at Austin Wednesday and determined some people needed to be released from jail because of “deficiencies in the probable cause affidavits.”
Those affidavits are put together by law enforcement to explain why they had a reason to arrest someone. The attorney’s office said it was individually reviewing the cases related to the protest.
LIVE BLOG: Updates on UT protests
KXAN reporters witnessed a number of people being released from jail Thursday morning, including a local photojournalist.
A total of 57 people were booked into the Travis County Jail related to the protest, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday.
RELATED: Local photojournalist among those arrested at UT protest
The attorney’s office said it has received 46 cases so far and has reviewed them all.
“We will continue to individually review all cases presented to our office to determine whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate,” the office said.
UT protest and arrests
Students and members of the community gathered Wednesday for a walkout of class around midday. They planned to “occupy” the lawn as they called for the University to divest from monetary support of Israel, according to a social media post from an organizer with the Palestinian Solidarity Committee of Austin.
Police officers with the Univerisity of Texas and the Austin Police Department, along with troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety, all responded to the campus.
Texas has had a law on the books since 2017 that bans state agencies from working with some companies and contractors who boycott Israel.
Law enforcement ordered the crowd to disperse and clashes with protesters ensued, leading to some arrests.
The University of Texas sent a letter to organizers the day before, telling them to cancel because its plans violated university rules.
“Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable. Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed. The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate Institutional Rules. Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied,” wrote president Jay Hartzell in a statement Wednesday night.
Charges dropped in 2020 protests
In May 2020, Austinites took to the streets against racial injustice after the death of George Floyd. Some protesters ended up on Interstate 35 and clashes with police led to changes in the department’s policies related to less-lethal ammunition.
In January 2021, KXAN reported the Travis County Attorney’s Office dismissed a number of lesser cases related to those protests. At the time, 16 were dismissed and 40 others were under review.
KXAN is reaching out to the Travis County Attorney’s office, which handles misdemeanor cases, and the Travis County District Attorney’s office, which handles felonies, on how many cases were dropped against protesters. We will update this story when we receive a response.
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