Grand jury indicts 14 for pro-Palestinian encampment, protest at UT Dallas
A Collin County grand jury returned indictments for 14 people in connection with last year's pro-Palestinian protest and encampment at UT Dallas.
According to District Attorney Greg Willis, the 14 people were indicted for obstruction of a passageway, which is a class B misdemeanor. Seven others who were arrested following the May 1, 2024, protest were no-billed, meaning they will not be prosecuted.
Class B misdemeanors in Texas carry a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail and a $10,000 fine.
The protest at UT Dallas was one of many that cropped up nationwide last year as students protested Israeli military action in Gaza. Among the students' demands was for the university to divest from corporations that do business with the Israeli military.
At the protests, come students set up barriers like wooden pallets to block a walkway on campus. The district attorney's office said that university officials instructed the protesters to remove the encampment, and law enforcement moved in when some protesters refused.
"While many individuals complied and left the area, a group of 14 protesters sat down in an outward-facing circle, locked arms, and refused repeated commands to clear the walkway. Officers arrested 21 individuals for Criminal Trespass, a misdemeanor offense under Texas law," the district attorney's office said in a statement.
