Activists criticize prosecution of UC Irvine protesters

A group of people arrested at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UC Irvine in May are going to court this week.

The defendants were joined by leaders of several activist groups for a press conference on Tuesday, criticizing the university and the Orange County District Attorney over the charges.

"I stand with the courageous protesters because I cannot stand by and watch our society's precious resources for education be stolen and misspent on militarism and genocide, and I will not accept being called a criminal for saying so aloud," said Dr. Tiffany Willoughby-Herard, a tenured associate professor at UCI who's facing felony charges for resisting arrest and resisting a peace officer with the threat of violence.

Willoughby-Herard said 11,000 people have signed letters and petitions demanding that the D.A.'s office drop all charges against the protesters.

The pro-Palestinian encampment had been largely peaceful for a few weeks, but when protesters surrounded the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall on May 15, campus police sought help from the Orange County Sheriff's Department and Irvine police as well as other neighboring law enforcement agencies.

Hundreds of law enforcement personnel descended on the Irvine campus to break up the encampment.

Amr Shabaik, CAIR-LA's legal director, characterized the cases as an "extreme waste of and misuse of tax dollars."

Estee Chandler, chair of the Jewish Voice for Peace Los Angeles, described resistance to the pro-Palestine protests as "Zionist McCarthyism" that includes "smears" of antisemitism against activists.

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In a written statement, the Orange County D.A.'s office said, "Freedom of speech is a right afforded to everyone, but university campuses are not immune from criminal consequences when peaceful protests cross the line into criminal behavior."

City News Service contributed to this report.