No criminal charges will be filed in the videoed incident during which three pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a University of Colorado Boulder class in April and were physically thrown out of the classroom.
Video clips of the incident, which were posted on social media, show that what began as a protest quickly escalated into physical altercations. One clip shows two men physically dragging a protester out of the classroom, and another shows a man yanking and pulling a protester’s head around by grabbing their keffiyeh, which is a traditional Arab headdress.
Despite the Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine group saying that this incident was a violent assault on students, the CU Boulder Police Department submitted an arrest warrant on April 10 for the one pro-Palestine student protester they could identify, according to a police report obtained through a public records request. But the Boulder County District Attorney’s office denied the arrest warrant.
“After careful consideration of the information contained in the warrant, the surveillance videos shown to me, and the conversation we had … about this case, myself and my office have determined that we will not approve the warrant,” Chief Trial Deputy District Attorney Kelsey Waldorf wrote in an email to CUPD on April 11. “Ultimately, we think these cases are going to be highly difficult to prove to a jury because the conduct doesn’t fit neatly into the criminal statutes governing this kind of conduct.”
Casondra Heiss, the student for whom CUPD submitted the arrest warrant, declined to comment. The two other people who reportedly entered the classroom with her remain unknown.
If the warrant had been approved, CU Boulder would have “utilized (it) as a template for arrest warrants” for three additional students who did not enter the classroom, and for David Preedy, an outside mentor who physically assaulted multiple protesters, according to the police report. Two of the three additional students who did not enter the classroom, Max Inman and Mari Rosenfeld, have filed a lawsuit against the University of Colorado, alleging free speech and due process violations after being banned from campus following a pro-Palestine protest.
The proposed charge for Heiss and the additional three students was conspiracy to commit interference with staff, faculty or students of educational institutions, a Class 2 misdemeanor, according to Mueksch.
CU Boulder said in a statement that the university has excluded Preedy from campus property. Preedy was an outside mentor who was visiting the class on the day of the disruption. During the incident, Preedy “grabbed” and “shoved” one of the women protesters out of the room and then “chased … down” the other protesters to forcibly remove their face and head coverings, according to the police report.
Per university policy, campus exclusions may be executed to ensure the safety and well-being of the campus community. CU Boulder spokesperson Nicole Mueksch said criminal charges are not required to execute a campus exclusion.
“Preedy mentioned that he was also fearful that they were going to harm the people in the classroom so he jumped up and forced them out of the classroom,” according to the police report. “… Preedy explained to me that he was afraid they may try and harm other people and that’s why he chased them down and tried to pull their masks off.”
Mueksch said the proposed charge for Preedy was harassment, a Class 1 misdemeanor. Preedy could not be reached for comment.
CU Boulder released a statement on Monday saying the university had consulted with the Boulder County District Attorney’s office after reviewing the evidence in the investigation of the incident.
“After a careful evaluation, and under the consideration that the standard for filing criminal charges requires that there be a reasonable likelihood of conviction, the agencies determined that criminal charges would not be filed,” according to a CU Boulder statement.
CU Boulder said it cannot disclose actions involving students due to federal law, noting, however, that all students are subject to the CU Boulder Student Code of Conduct. Any student found responsible for violating the Student Code of Conduct will be subject to appropriate sanctions, the statement read.
“The safety of all students, faculty, staff and visitors at CU Boulder remains a top priority, and the university is committed to protecting public safety on campus while also supporting free speech that does not violate laws or university policies,” according to the statement. “CUPD appreciates the Boulder County District Attorney’s support in evaluating this case.”
The professor of the class was Andrew Meyer, according to the police report. Despite allegations by the Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine group that the professor had “violently assaulted” the protesting students, Meyer was listed as a witness on the police report, not a suspect. The university said there was no evidence that the instructor of the class broke any laws in the April 2 incident.
At the time of the disruption, Meyer was teaching “a class on matters involving defense security for the government,” according to the police report.
Meyer reported to the police that he “immediately was terrified” because the people who entered the classroom were wearing all black and were covered by face masks, so he felt that they “may have had weapons and malicious intent” to harm him and his students. Meyer could not be reached for a comment.
Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine, which is not affiliated with CU Boulder, called on the university to issue a public condemnation of the assault and grant the students amnesty from any student conduct charges.
“In (Monday’s) statement, CU Boulder does not condemn the violence …,” the group wrote in an email to the Daily Camera on Tuesday. “In previous official remarks, the university equated physical violence to a policy violation for students disrupting a class. … Any CU student employee will know that a part of our training is learning to de-escalate situations with students, even if we disagree with them. This professor, like any other CU employee, had an obligation to at the very least de-escalate the situation. … This university, where classroom disruptions are routine as part of the induction process for fraternities, has only taken a clear stance against disruption when students are speaking out against their university taking an active part in genocide.”
Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine was placed in bad standing by the university in October following reported policy violations. The group remains active but unaffiliated with CU Boulder.
