A Texas official dropped charges against several pro-Palestinian protesters that were arrested this week at the University of Texas.
On Friday, the Austin American-Statesman reported that Travis County Attorney Delia Garza announced that misdemeanor charges filed against pro-Palestinian protesters this week were dismissed. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the charges for over 50 protesters were dropped because Garza's office agreed with defense lawyers that there were "deficiencies" in probable cause affidavits used in their arrests.
Travis County public defender Nouha Ezouhri told the Austin American-Statesman that law enforcement officials "copied and pasted" the different probable cause affidavits used in the arrest of the protesters.
"That's not how it's supposed to be," Ezouhri told the Austin American-Statesman.
Earlier this week, officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety" and UT Austin police made several arrests during a pro-Palestinian protest on campus.
Tensions on campuses have remained high since October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that left 1,200 people dead and saw more than 200 taken hostage. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, the Associated Press reported, citing local health officials.
Several pro-Palestinian protests have broken out at different college campuses, such as UT Austin, Columbia University and Northwestern University.
In an Instagram post this week, the Palestine Solidarity Committee, an organization "dedicated to organizing for Palestinian liberation and right to return," with a location in Austin, posted its plans to establish "the Popular University" at the UT Austin campus on Wednesday. According to the post, supporters were going to "reclaim our space" by walking out of class at 11:40 a.m. and meeting at Gregory Plaza. Students were instructed to then march to occupy the lawn. They were told to bring blankets, food, face masks and energy.
In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday the Texas Department of Public Safety said that they responded to protests at UT Austin "at the request of the University and at the direction of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in order to prevent any unlawful assembly and to support UT Police in maintaining the peace by arresting anyone engaging in any sort of criminal activity, including criminal trespass."
"At this time, we can confirm more than 20 arrests have been made by law enforcement on the UT campus," the statement added.
In another post on Wednesday evening, the Texas DPS said, "Update: As of 9 p.m., 34 arrests have been made by law enforcement on the UT Austin campus related to today's protest."
Newsweek reached out to Travis County Attorney's office via email for comment.
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