A Texas prosecutor seems disinclined to prosecute crimes apparently committed by pro-Hamas demonstrators on the University of Texas campus recently.
In the last week or so, nearly 130 arrests have been made in connection with pro-Hamas demonstrations on UT’s Austin campus. Nearly 60 of those arrests occurred on April 24 alone. All of those cases were later dropped by Travis County prosecutors, who claimed they did not have “sufficient probable cause” to proceed further.
Then on Monday, 79 more pro-Hamas radicals were arrested, though whether any of those individuals had been arrested the previous week as well is unclear. Almost all face at least one count of criminal trespassing. One person has an additional charge of obstructing a highway or passageway, and another faces a charge of interfering with public duties.
Of the 79 people arrested on campus that day, just 34 actually attend the school. The other 45 reportedly have no affiliation with the University of Texas whatsoever.
Thus, “external agitators” may have hijacked these pro-Hamas demonstrations at UT just as they have at Columbia University, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. However, Travis County attorney Delia Garza seems affronted that the University of Texas and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott expect her office do something about them.
“It is not the role of the criminal justice system to jail people for conduct that has not yet occurred, nor is it our role to assist the governor’s efforts to suppress nonviolent and peaceful demonstrations,” Garza said.
Garza also seemingly complained that cases from the demonstrations have increased prosecutors’ workload. “While we understand the safety concerns of the university, continuing to send protesters to jail on criminal trespass charges — one of the lowest level nonviolent crimes our office is presented with — is putting tremendous strain on our criminal justice resources,” she said.
“Cycling people in and out of jail on low-level charges, and dwindling resources for the rest of the community, will do very little to maintain the public safety of our community,” she continued.
She added that members of her office want to partner with university officials to “find a better way forward” in dealing with these demonstrations.
The university claimed that it has struck a balance between preserving people’s constitutional rights and public safety: “The University strongly supports the free speech and assembly rights of our community, and we want students and others on campus to know that protests on campus are fully permissible, provided that they do not violate Institutional Rules or threaten the safety of our campus community.”
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