Do you think they will face any real consequences?
Campus Reform reports:
Trial begins for Stanford students accused of vandalism during Gaza protestStudents from Stanford University will stand trial for their vandalism and demonstrations against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.The five students who are set to be tried were members of a group charged with felony vandalism in an incident from June 2024, according to The Guardian.Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen has stated at a press conference that the protesters have been charged because of their vandalism.“Pouring invective onto social media is not against the law,” Rosen said. “Pouring fake blood all over someone else’s workplace is.”The five defendants are pleading not guilty and have continued to blame the Stanford administration for what they call “complicity with Israel’s genocide.” A spokesperson from Stanford said at the same press conference that the school will respect the district attorney’s office’s decisions in the case.During a trial hearing in December, attorneys in the case got into a dispute about whether “genocide” can properly be applied to Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza.“Using the word genocide is the same as saying the sky is blue,” said the defense attorney for the protesters, Leah Gillis, according to KQED.Robert Baker, the prosecutor, responded by saying that Gillis’s argument was too simplistic. “That’s absolutely absurd,” Baker contended. “And I think there’s people who were murdered in World War II that would probably think that the word genocide is a lot different than just the word blue.”On Jan. 5, Palestine Legal posted to Instagram that the trial was set to start that day. “It is the most severe criminal case brought against any of the thousands of students who have organized protests or encampments against the genocide in Gaza,” the group stated.
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