Prosecutor: No charges for 5 arrested during pro-Palestinian protests at Wayne State
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Wayne County Prosecutor will not charge five people arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest at Wayne State University in the spring.
"The right to peacefully protest and demonstrate is deeply woven into the American fabric. The WCPO has thoroughly studied and examined these cases and we have determined that they do not rise of the level of criminal behavior," Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "We will not be charging any of these criminal case requests that have been presented to us. We will also be asking that the tickets issued to some of the protesters be dismissed."
In late May, Students for Justice in Palestine organized a protest and encampment on the Detroit campus. On May 30, the encampment was dismantled by police, and numerous people were ticketed or arrested.
Detained Wayne State protesters released after police dismantle encampment
People waited outside the Detroit Detention Center for hours, chanting and hoping for the protesters' release, which took place around 5 p.m.
The first arrests happened around 6:30 a.m. in the area of Third Avenue near Atchison Hall. According to Worthy, a 22-year-old woman was walking on Third Avenue with a bullhorn. As she turned onto campus, she caught the attention of a Wayne State University police officer because she had a bullhorn, not because she was trespassing, Worthy said. An officer is accused of grabbing her from behind by her jacket and holding onto her while she continued to walk with a crowd for about five seconds.
Other officers then helped take the woman, who did not attempt to flee, to the ground and arrested her for trespassing.
While this was happening, a 53-year-old female yelled, "That’s my daughter!" When the first officer grabbed her child, she in turn grabbed onto her. She was also issued a ticket for trespassing.
A 19-year-old woman who is a student was holding on to the 53-year-old mother as the police were trying to arrest her. She was also arrested, and while being taken down to the ground her hijab came off, Worthy said. She was also issued a ticket for trespassing.
According to Worthy, the location of the arrests is why her office declined to issue charges.
Worthy said the arrests happened in a place nearby where the protesters had been advised they were allowed to protest. This area was on WSU property, but in the middle of a publicly accessible sidewalk/driveway in the area of Atchison Hall and the College of Engineering.
According to a press release from Worthy, it is difficult to determine how publicly accessible sidewalks and streets are public or private because they are, in a sense, publicly owned and in an urban center. A review of evidence, including body worn camera footage, led to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the three women were trespassing.
A few hours later, around 8:30 a.m., more protesters were arrested, that time in the area of Merrick Street and Third Avenue.
According to Worthy, Wayne State police said a 20-year-old woman swore at officers and was filming them with her phone. Police alleged that she hit an officer's shield with her phone. However, Worthy said she did not touch the shield.
As police were attempting to pull the woman behind the police line, a 24-year-old man pulled on her. He was pushed to the ground by another officer and stiffened his arms, refusing to be handcuffed. He was arrested for resisting and obstructing an officer. According to Worthy, the man assisted a woman who was being arrested who did not commit a crime.
"I want to make it exceedingly clear that this office will not ever tolerate protesters that engage in behavior that is not peaceful or turns violent in any way. But that is not present in these cases," Worthy said.