SAN JOSE, California: Eleven pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were arrested at Stanford University last year after they occupied the president’s office building pleaded not guilty Monday for the second time after they were indicted by a grand jury on felony vandalism charges.
The group of current and former Stanford students and activists were charged in April with felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass. All pleaded not guilty during their arraignment the following month.
But after preliminary hearings were delayed for months due to defense attorneys being unavailable, prosecutors took the case to a grand jury, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in court documents.
Last week’s grand jury indictment superseded the charges filed in April, allowing for the legal proceedings to skip preliminary hearings, which are held to determine if there is enough evidence for a trial.
“The PEOPLE are ready for trial at the soonest possible date,” Rosen wrote.
Attorneys for the group had requested a preliminary hearing and set a date for Nov. 3, which would have given them the opportunity to publicly challenge the evidence presented, defense attorney Jeff Wozniak said.
“Grand Juries are secret proceedings where no defendants or defense attorneys are present to ask questions or defend themselves,” Wozniak said. “By avoiding a preliminary hearing, they are making secret a fundamentally important step in the case.”
A judge on Monday set a trial date for Nov. 17.
The Stanford takeover began around dawn on June 5, 2024, the last day of spring classes at the university in California’s Silicon Valley. Some protesters barricaded themselves inside the building, which houses the university president’s office. Others linked arms outside, The Stanford Daily reported at the time. The group chanted “Palestine will be free, we will free Palestine.” The takeover ended three hours later when they were arrested.
Authorities arrested and charged 12 people but last month a 21-year-old man pleaded no contest under a deferred entry of judgment agreement available to young defendants. If he completes probation without further legal trouble, the case could be dismissed, the Mercury News reported. The man testified for the prosecution before the grand jury.
Prosecutors accuse the demonstrators of spray-painting on the building, breaking windows and furniture, disabling security cameras and splattering a red liquid described as fake blood on items throughout the building. Damages were estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to prosecutors.