Travis County rejects all criminal trespass charges against 57 people arrested at UT-Austin protest

Pooja Salhotra, Annie Xia and Julius Shieh
·4 min read
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A protester is pulled from the crowd to be arrested at the University of Texas at Austin during a protest for Palestine on April 24, 2024.
A protester is pulled from the crowd to be arrested at the University of Texas at Austin during a demonstration for Palestinians on April 24, 2024. Credit: Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribune

Criminal charges were dropped against 57 people arrested during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Texas at Austin this week, according to the Travis County attorney’s office.

But the Texas Department of Public Safety said Friday that it is launching a criminal investigation into a journalist arrested at the protest.

Criminal trespass charges were filed against the arrestees, who were booked in Travis County Jail on Wednesday, sheriff's spokesperson Kristen Dark said. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Dark said all arrestees had been released from custody. Arrested protestors will not be allowed back on campus even though charges have been dropped, according to statement from the university Friday reported by KUT. Arrested students will be banned from campus, except for "academic reasons," the radio station said.

A spokesperson for Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said Friday that law enforcement lacked probable cause in the 57 cases she dismissed. Probable cause is the reason law enforcement provides to justify arrests.

“Legal concerns were raised by defense counsel,” Diana Melendez, a spokesperson for the Travis County Attorney’s Office, said in a Thursday statement. “The Court affirmed and ordered the release of those individuals.”

A spokesperson for the Travis County district attorney's office said that as of Thursday night, there had been no felony charges brought against any people arrested at the protest.

On Friday, though, DPS said a television news cameraman hit a state trooper and a case has been referred to the agency's criminal investigations division. Local media reported this week that a FOX 7 photojournalist who identified himself as Carlos was among those arrested Wednesday. FOX 7 declined to comment on the matter.

The arrests occurred during a chaotic demonstration at UT-Austin, where more than 500 students walked out of class to demand that the university divest from manufacturers supplying Israel weapons on its strikes on Gaza.

In a statement to KXAN, a UT spokesperson said that 26 of the arrestees were unaffiliated with the university. Unlike the thirteen previous pro-Palestinian free speech events on campus, the spokesperson said, Wednesday's demonstration had significant participation from outside groups.

"This outside group presence is what we've seen from the affiliated national organization's efforts to disrupt and create disorder," the statement says.

One of the people arrested was a FOX 7 photojournalist, according to local media.

Protesters walk out of the Travis County Jail to be welcomed by community members, fellow students and other supporters gathered outside the jail in Austin on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
Protesters walk out of the Travis County Jail are welcomed by fellow students and other supporters gathered outside the jail in Austin on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Credit: Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribune

There were no signs of violence before authorities armed with batons intervened, handcuffing students and pushing protesters back. More than 100 DPS troopers, deployed at the request of the university and the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, were at the scene, in addition to University of Texas police department officers and Austin police department officers.

On Thursday, a DPS spokesperson said their personnel “remained on standby to support UT police in maintaining the peace” on campus.

A Travis County sheriff spokesperson said that all 57 of the arrests were made by the UT police department. Protesters faced criminal trespassing charges, a class B misdemeanor. A spokesperson for the Travis County district attorney said he was not aware of any felony charges brought against protestors.

The Tribune obtained copies of affidavits for 11 of the protesters who were arrested from the Travis County clerk’s misdemeanor records division. Those affidavits gave few details on each individual incident other than to state — in various wording — that each arrestee was told to disperse but did not.

Attorneys helping with jail release estimate that 62 people were arrested Wednesday, according to Nouha Ezouhri, an attorney for the Travis County Public Defender’s Office. Ezhouri said she could not comment on the discrepancy between the attorneys' count of arrestees and the sheriff's office reported number.

As of Thursday evening, she said all detainees had been released, and the majority of those let out had their charges dropped.

Julius Shieh contributed to this story.

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