BLOOMINGTON — The Monroe County Prosecutor's Office announced it will not be charging the 55 people who were arrested on Indiana University’s campus during protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in April.
The protestors were arrested on April 25 and April 27 at Dunn Meadow after they reportedly refused to remove tents and canopies. The structures went against the university’s public safety policy.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | 33 arrested during Gaza protests on Indiana University's campus
The prosecutor’s office released the following statement regarding the charges:
“The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office, having reviewed all reports, affidavits, videos, and photographs submitted by the Indiana University Police Department and Indiana State Police, declines to file criminal charges against 55 individuals who were arrested for criminal trespass at IU’s Dunn Meadow on April 25 and April 27, 2024. Based upon the facts and circumstances surrounding these arrests, including, among other things, the constitutionally dubious process by which the University passed and enforced its new policy regarding structures in Dunn Meadow, the State is unlikely to be able convict these individuals at trials on the merits. To attempt to do so would be a poor use of limited resources and wholly inconsistent with the sound exercise of prosecutorial discretion.”
The university is also being sued by the ACLU of Indiana in response to the arrests.
READ MORE | ACLU of Indiana sues Indiana University over campus bans resulting from protests (wrtv.com)
The ACLU claims the university violated the First Amendment rights of three people who face a one-year ban from campus because they participated in the protests.
The suit requests that the bans be dismissed to allow plaintiffs access to the campus to participate in current and future protests.
