The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office will not file criminal charges against the majority of protesters arrested at UCLA and USC during massive demonstrations at the war in Gaza last year, according to a written statement released Friday.
City atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto said her office received more than 300 referrals from arrests held at both campuses last spring, but only two people will be charged. The other three will be referred to an informal prosecutor’s procedure.
“Most of these cases were rejected for evidence reasons or because of failure by the university or because they were unable to assist with the specific or other information needed for prosecution,” a statement from her office said.
The two suspects facing criminal charges have been identified as Edan Ong and Matthew Katz.
The Israeli pro-Israel demonstrator was charged with battery and attack with deadly weapons, while Katz was accused of resisting battery, false imprisonment and arrest. Most of these charges are misdemeanors.
Both were arrested on their suspects at UCLA.
On’s case was initially handled by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. This postponed the case to SOTO after it could not be established beyond the reasonable doubt that his suspect had directly injured another person.
The three identified as Ali Abuamoune, Kara Maria Aguilar and David Fichel were sent to a city attorney’s hearing, according to the statement.
Abuamouneh and Aguilar were arrested in USC, while Fischel was arrested in UCLA.
The decision to submit comes a year after it became the central stage for a tense debate over the war in Gaza that broke out after Hamas-led extremists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Gaza’s health ministry says the Israeli attacks killed more than 51,000 Palestinians.
News of Soto’s decision was received positively by some.
The Greater Los Angeles Regional Office of the Council on America and Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) has welcomed the filing of criminal charges.
“For too long, our community has called for accountability for the brutal assaults of peaceful, largely student-led protesters. This is a traumatic assault that left several injured people behind while law enforcement failed to intervene.” “This filing is an important step, but it’s just the first step.”
Amelia Jones, professor and vice dean of USC’s Roski School of Art and Design, has expressed support for Soto’s decision not to file charges against most protesters.
“[Her] The decision not to file criminal charges against the majority of students arrested by LAPD on USC’s campus last spring criticises in her words the right of students and faculty to protest as a basic and legitimate “exercise of speech.”
Soto said her office received more than 300 referrals from arrests made during the protests on two campuses in April and May 2024.
Soto said the UCLA Police Department introduced the arrests of 245 people and refused to have everything filed due to insufficient evidence.
She said the Los Angeles Police Department featured 93 arrests made at USC. These cases were also rejected in cases of submission due to insufficient evidence.
“I would like to thank my criminal attorneys for their commitment to the rule of law and their commitment to objectively assessing the evidence and referrals received on each of these issues,” Soto said.
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