Most arrested during USC, UCLA Israel-Hamas war protests won't be charged, L.A. city attorney says
The Los Angeles city attorney's office will not file criminal charges against the vast majority of protesters arrested at UCLA and USC during last year's mass demonstrations over the war in Gaza, according to a written statement released Friday.
City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto said that while her office received more than 300 referrals from arrests made during last spring's demonstrations at both campuses, only two people would be charged. Three others will be referred to informal prosecutorial proceedings.
'Most of these cases were declined for evidentiary reasons or due to a university's failure or inability to assist in identification or other information needed for prosecution,' the statement from her office reads.
The two suspects facing criminal charges were identified as Edan On and Matthew Katz.
Read more: Man arrested in attack on UCLA pro-Palestinian protesters won't face felony charges
On, a pro-Israel demonstrator, was charged with battery and assault with a deadly weapon and Katz was charged with battery, false imprisonment and resisting arrest, according to the city attorney's office. Most of those charges are misdemeanors.
Both were arrested for their alleged conduct at UCLA.
On's case was initially handled by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which deferred the case to Soto after it could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that his alleged conduct directly injured another person.
Three others — identified as Ali Abuamouneh, Karla Maria Aguilar and David Fischel — were sent to city attorney hearings, which are informal proceedings conducted as an alternative to a misdemeanor criminal prosecution, according to the statement.
Abuamouneh and Aguilar were arrested at USC while Fischel was arrested at UCLA.
The filing decision comes a year after university campuses became center stage for tense debates over the war in Gaza that broke out after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — killing an estimated 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 people hostage.
Gaza's Health Ministry says that Israel's offensive has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians.
Read more: Police arrested hundreds of pro-Palestinian students in L.A. The fallout continues
News of Soto's decision was received positively by some.
The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) welcomed the filing of criminal charges against On.
'For far too long, our communities have demanded accountability for the brutal assault on peaceful, largely student-led demonstrators — an assault that left several injured and traumatized while law enforcement stood by and failed to intervene,' said Dina Chehata, a CAIR-LA civil rights managing attorney. "This filing is an important step, but it is only the first step.'
Amelia Jones, a professor and vice dean of faculty and research at USC's Roski School of Art and Design, expressed support for Soto's decision to not file charges against most protesters.
'[Her] decision not to file criminal charges on the vast majority of students arrested by LAPD on USC's campus last spring ratifies the student and faculty right to protest as a fundamental and lawful 'exercise of speech,' in her words,' she wrote in a statement to The Times. 'As a supporter of the students and someone who attended the entirely peaceful protests almost every day, I am thrilled to see this issue resolved and freedom of speech ratified."
Read more: UCLA struggles to recover after 200 arrested, pro-Palestinian camp torn down
Soto said her office received more than 300 referrals from arrests made during the protests at the two campuses in April and May 2024.
Soto said the UCLA Police Department referred 245 arrests and all were declined for filing due to insufficient evidence.
She said the Los Angeles Police Department referred 93 arrests made at USC. Those cases were also declined for filing due to insufficient evidence.
'I want to thank the attorneys in my Criminal Branch for their dedication to the rule of law and their commitment to objectively evaluating the evidence and referrals received on each of these matters," Soto said.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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