In a final hearing Tuesday afternoon, the city court closed the case against the 41 students arrested in a December University Hall sit-in by providing them a six-month not guilty filing. Provided the students are not rearrested within the six-month period, the case will be dismissed and the students will not receive a criminal record.
The decision followed three months of deliberations after initial arraignments in February, when all 41 students pled not guilty to charges of “willful trespassing within school buildings,” The Herald previously reported.
“I’m glad my peers and I are not going to have records,” said Kate Kuli ’25, one of the arrested demonstrators. “At the same time, I wish that Brown would have made the decision to drop the charges.”
In April, Brown refused to drop these charges in multiple rounds of negotiations with students encamping in support of divestment, despite a formal recommendation by the Brown University Community Council, a University advisory body.
Three City Council members also urged the Solicitor’s office to drop the charges in an April 29 letter, The Herald previously reported.
According to Kuli, not every student was able to attend the court session due to final exams and end-of-semester departures.
After the session concluded at 4 p.m., students and community members walked to Memorial Park, where some students spoke and led singing. Student speakers reiterated their support for ongoing encampments at universities across the country and looked ahead to the upcoming Corporation vote on divestment in October.
Correction: A previous headline accompanying this story incorrectly referred to the court's decision as dropping charges. The Herald regrets the error.
Anisha Kumar is a section editor covering University Hall. She is a sophomore from Menlo Park, California concentrating in English and Political Science who loves speed-crosswording and rewatching sitcoms.
