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A Santa Clara County grand jury has indicted the 11 Stanford University students who were charged with felony trespass and vandalism after they barricaded themselves inside the president’s office building last year to protest the war in Gaza.
The sudden move by the District Attorney’s office to seek indictment against the group came on Sept. 29 and created further tension in the case that defense attorneys had hoped would remain in public.
Attorneys for the group of students had requested a preliminary hearing and set a date for Nov. 3, which would have given them the opportunity to publicly challenge the evidence presented, said defense attorney Jeff Wozniak.
“Then a couple days later, we find out that a secret grand jury proceeding happened where we have no opportunity to ask questions of witnesses, and that they secured an indictment,” Wozniak said.
Defense attorneys especially wanted the chance to cross examine witnesses against the now 11 students facing prison time, including protester John Thomas Richardson, who began working with the District Attorney’s office. Cameron Michael Pennington, German Gonzalez, Kaiden Wang, Amy Jing Zhai, Eliana Lindsay Fuchs, Gretchen Rose Giumarin, Hunter Taylor-Black, Isabella Terrazas, Maya Burke, Taylor McCann and Zoe Georgia Edelman are still facing charges.
“I think that they’re scared to be held accountable for these outrageous allegations and overcharging of this case,” Wozniak said.
The District Attorney’s office moved to indict the students to “conserve judicial resources” and ensure a speedy trial, wrote Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker in a statement to this publication.
“There are significant logistical hurdles to present a preliminary hearing involving 11 defendants,” he wrote. “If the court could not commence the preliminary hearing within 60 days due to the unavailability of the defense attorneys, the case would have to be dismissed.”
The original complaint against the students was filed in April and the case has been slow to progress following hours-long court hearings and multiple delays.
“If they were so interested in making this move quickly, why didn’t they secure a grand jury indictment before?” Wozniak said. “This case has been going on for many months.”
Defense attorneys are still fighting to have the felony charges reduced to misdemeanors for the students who have no prior criminal records, Wozniak said. On top of the criminal charges, Stanford University suspended students for two quarters, required community service hours and is demanding $300,000 plus restitution from the group.
The institution originally estimated $700,000 in repairs after the students barricaded themselves inside the building, but a more detailed investigation revealed that $300,000 in damage could be attributed to the protesters, Baker wrote.
According to a statement from Richardson, there was no clear plan for vandalism and conversations encouraged minimizing damage, which is corroborated by police reports.
Protesters entered the president’s office building on the morning of June 5, 2024 by breaking a window and opening doors to let the remaining group members inside, according to police investigation records. Protesters damaged furniture, spilled fake blood made from corn syrup and ransacked office drawers.
“An antique grandfather clock was so damaged it cost over $12,000 to restore,” according to court documents filed by Baker and District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
The protesters took action after students and faculty organized over 20 peaceful protests since October 2023, demanding the university engage in conversations with students and divest from companies that supply military support to Israel, according to court documents. But activists alleged that their efforts were met with minimal engagement.
“Israel has subjected Gaza to a severe siege and a relentless bombing campaign, resulting in the deaths of over 35,000 Palestinians, nearly half of whom were women and children,” a protester said in a video from inside the office. “As of this morning, Stanford University holds multimillion dollar investments in corporations that provide material and logistical support to Israel’s current military campaign.”
The defense believes this is a political case, not a felony one, and that it is being used to chill free speech and the possibility of deterring future demonstrations, Wozniak said.
“This is a political direct action that arose out of frustration with the lack of communication from the university to live up to their own standards about not investing in human rights abuses,” he said.
The District Attorney’s office claimed that if charges were reduced, felony vandalism would cease to exist and that student “attitudes” toward the offense do not support a reduction in charges, according to court documents filed by Baker and Rosen.
“This motion would send a terrible message to the community of Santa Clara County,” wrote Baker and Rosen. “It would say that personal property does not deserve protection from those seeking political changes through destruction.”
A trial by jury will be requested at the soonest possible date, Baker wrote.
Correction: The story has been updated to correct a quote from Wozniak that had initially omitted a word.
