FILE - Students walk by graffiti near university president Richard Saller's office at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
FILE - A campus maintenance worker carries a broken window from the office of the president at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
FILE - An official looks at damage around a door leading to university president Richard Saller's office at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
FILE - Campus maintenance workers repair a broken door at the office of the president at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
FILE - Students walk by graffiti near university president Richard Saller's office at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
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FILE - A campus maintenance worker carries a broken window from the office of the president at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
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FILE - An official looks at damage around a door leading to university president Richard Saller's office at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
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FILE - Campus maintenance workers repair a broken door at the office of the president at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A trial began Friday for five current and former Stanford University students who occupied the university president's offices during a pro-Palestinian protest in 2024 — in a rare instance of demonstrators facing trial for actions from the wave of campus protests that year.
Authorities initially arrested and charged 12 people after demonstrators barricaded themselves inside the president and provost’s offices for , the last day of spring classes at the university in California’s Silicon Valley.
One defendant, a 21-year-old man, pleaded no contest under an agreement that allows eligible youth to have their cases dismissed and records sealed if they successfully complete probation. He testified for the prosecution that led to the of the 11 others on felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass charges.
Six of the 11 accepted pretrial plea deals or diversion programs, while the five on trial pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutors accused the demonstrators of spray-painting on the building, breaking windows and furniture, disabling security cameras and splattering a red liquid described as fake blood on items throughout the offices. The university is seeking $329,000 in restitution.
Avi Singh, an attorney representing Stanford student Germán González, said González decided to exercise his right to a jury trial.
“Germán González and the other four defendants are exercising their constitutional right to have a jury trial, and demand the district attorney prove everything that is required for a conviction," including whether they planned to trespass and what their intent was, he said.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said last year when announcing his decision to charge the group that the protesters went too far when they damaged the building.
“Speech is protected by the First Amendment. Vandalism is prosecuted under the penal code,” he said.
Protests sprung up on across the U.S. with students setting up camps and demanding their universities with Israel or companies that support its war efforts against
About 3,200 people were arrested in 2024 nationwide. While some colleges ended demonstrations by with the students, or simply waited them out, others called in police when protesters refused to leave. Most of the charges were dismissed.
