All charges have been dropped against five Stanford University students involved in a 2024 campus protest against Israel's war on Gaza. The students had faced potential prison sentences and significant restitution.
The resolution, reached with the California attorney general's office, requires the students to complete 100 hours of community service at a non-profit of their choice and pay a total restitution of approximately $50,000. This amount is substantially less than the $1m initially threatened by prosecutors and the $329,000 each student risked being liable for at trial.
The students were part of a group of 12 who occupied the university president's office in June 2024, demanding Stanford consider divesting from Israel. The lead prosecutor in the case, Jeff Rosen, was removed by the court in May over a conflict of interest, with a judge stating it would "render it unlikely that the defendants will receive fair treatment."
Three other students who had previously accepted misdemeanor pleas will also have their convictions withdrawn once they complete the required community service as part of Monday's agreement.