Stanford pro-Palestine activists plead not guilty in felony vandalism case
Defendants charged in the felony vandalism case stemming from a June 2024 pro-Palestinian protest at Stanford University pleaded not guilty Wednesday to all charges at the Santa Clara County Superior Court in Palo Alto.
The 12 defendants — mostly current and former Stanford students and alumni — were arraigned last May and are accused of causing between $360,000 and $1 million in damage during a takeover of university administrative offices, a figure student activists have called an “exaggeration.”
On the same day as the protest, some of the school’s historic sandstone buildings were defaced with profanity-laced graffiti. A pro-Palestine student encampment was also forcibly dismantled following the protest.
For nearly two hours before Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Thomas Kuhnle, the district attorneys and defense lawyers were absent from the courtroom.
When they returned, Kuhnle denied a motion to reduce the charges from felonies to misdemeanors without discussion, and no plea agreement was reached. A preliminary hearing is now set for Sept. 29 to determine if there’s enough evidence to go to trial, and the activists could face felony convictions.
The courtroom was filled with supporters, though the atmosphere was subdued compared to earlier hearings. Sheriff’s deputies have been assigned to secure the courthouse, and the public has been repeatedly reminded of a standing order banning demonstrations, broadcasting and photography on court property, including the parking lot.
During the May arraignment, supporters rallied in the courthouse parking lot and were threatened with arrest. On Wednesday, supporters wearing keffiyahs left quietly without incident.
The group barricaded themselves inside the offices as part of a campus protest demanding that Stanford divest from companies linked to Israel’s military strikes in Gaza. The case is part of a broader wave of demonstrations across U.S. campuses protesting Israel’s war in Gaza and U.S. military aid.
Stanford’s handling of pro-Palestinian activism has drawn sharp criticism from both pro-Palestine advocates and groups alleging antisemitism. Following the hearing, Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine renewed calls for District Attorney Jeff Rosen to drop the felony charges.
“Students are on the right side of history in standing against genocide and injustice,” the group said in a statement. “While DA Rosen risks placing himself on the wrong side of history by pursuing unjust charges that waste judicial resources.”
Rosen has defended his decision to pursue felony charges, saying in April: “Dissent is American. Vandalism is criminal. Speech is protected by the First Amendment. Vandalism is prosecuted under the penal code.”
Earlier this year, the DA declined to charge Dilan Gohill, a student journalist arrested while covering the protest.
The Stanford case comes as universities across the country face mounting scrutiny over their response to pro-Palestinian activism.
In 2024, campus encampments calling for divestment from Israel-linked companies spread widely, drawing pressure from lawmakers and federal agencies.
Earlier this month, UC Berkeley turned over the names of 160 students, staff and faculty members to federal authorities investigating antisemitism on college campuses, many of whom were involved in pro-Palestine demonstrations on campus.
In a separate case, Stanford’s student newspaper and two non-citizen students, independent of the university, filed a federal lawsuit in August in San Jose against Trump administration officials, challenging provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that they say were used to suppress political speech critical of Israel.