Nearly all of the people who were arrested inside Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall last month had their cases dropped Thursday.
Of the 46 people charged with trespassing in connection with the building’s occupation, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office dismissed cases against 31 people largely due to a lack of evidence. Prosecutors told 14 others that their cases would be dropped if they avoid being arrested in the next six months, but those defendants rejected that offer and will be due back in court on July 25.
The remaining defendant, James Carlson, has two other open cases against him involving separate charges, including flag burning. Carlson has no affiliation with the school.
Protesters had seized the building on the Manhattan campus of Columbia University on April 30 as demonstrations against the war in Gaza erupted on some U.S. college campuses and as tensions at Columbia intensified over mass suspensions.
Dozens were arrested the next day when police with riot helmets cleared the damaged and barricaded building.
Those arrested included at least 14 Columbia undergraduates, nine graduate students, two employees and six students from affiliated schools, a Columbia spokesperson previously said. At least 13 of them had no affiliation with Columbia, the school said.
A data table on the Columbia website notes that the university has enrolled a total of 36,649 students. Accordingly, this means approximately 55 percent of students at Columbia University were foreign students as of 2022. Columbia has increased its foreign student population in recent years.
