Charges dropped against all 57 arrested in connection to UT-Austin pro-Palestinian protest

All charges have been declined against the 57 people arrested in connection with Wednesday's pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas.

The Travis County attorney's office said the 57 arrests, which were all criminal trespassing charges, lacked probable cause.

County Attorney Delia Garza, whose office handles misdemeanor cases, told the American-Statesman on Thursday that her office agreed with defense lawyers that there were "deficiencies" with the probable cause arrest affidavits, which are the documents filled out by law enforcement to justify an arrest.

While state troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety and officers with the Austin Police Department were seen handcuffing people at Wednesday's protest, all 57 arrests were technically by the University of Texas Police Department. This means university police filled out each of the 57 probable cause affidavits.

Nouha Ezouhri, an attorney with the Travis County public defender's office, helped file jail release forms for those arrested at the protest. She told the Statesman on Thursday that it looked like university police "copied and pasted" each probable cause affidavit for every person arrested.

"That's not how it's supposed to be," Ezouhri said.

The Statesman obtained copies of 11 probable cause affidavits. Most of them showed similar comments, that the person "was given notice of dispersal and refused to leave the property." Four of the affidavits do not have a time of the arrest, and most state that the arrest took place in the 2100 or 2200 block of Speedway. Six of the affidavits were filled out by the same officer.

Everyone arrested in connection with the demonstration had been released from the Travis County Jail by midafternoon Thursday, Travis County sheriff's office spokesperson Kristen Dark said.

None of the protesters faced felony charges, the Travis County district attorney's office confirmed.

Although the charges have been dropped, it's possible that police could decide to fill out more probable cause affidavits and press charges against those arrested, George Lobb, an attorney with the Austin Lawyers Guild, told the Statesman. Police have two years to bring charges against those they arrested under Texas' statute of limitations for misdemeanors.

Stephanie Jacksis, spokesperson for the UT Police Department, said she's uncertain if UT police intend to do that.

Jumana Fakhreddine, a UT senior who was among the first students arrested on Wednesday, said she was relieved to see that her charges were dropped. But she’s concerned that discipline from the school will be harsh.

The university said Friday that people who were arrested on criminal trespassing charges during Wednesday's protest would be barred from campus, per an existing university policy, the Statesman reported.

Staff writer Bayliss Wagner contributed reporting to this story.