The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) San Francisco Bay Area office strongly opposes Santa Clara, who participated in the June 2024 pro-Palestine protest for divestment from Israeli County District Attorney’s decision to seek grand jury indictments against 11 Stanford University students and community members, military operation supporters.
The district attorney has chosen to skip the preliminary hearing process by using grand jury indictments to pursue felony vandalism and trespassing charges against the defendants, who will now face a direct path to trial.
Secret Grand Jury Process Sparks Controversy
The District Attorney’s office used private grand jury sessions on September 29 to obtain indictments instead of holding public preliminary hearings, which would have allowed defendants to challenge evidence. Defense attorney Jeff Wozniak labeled the decision as “extraordinary and unnecessary” since prosecutors had already presented their evidence to the public through press conferences and national media appearances before beginning secret proceedings.
“This move is extraordinary and unnecessary. These students exercised their rights to demand accountability from their university in the face of an ongoing genocide,” said CAIR-SFBA Civil Rights Managing Attorney Jeffrey Wang.
The court issued these indictments following prosecutors’ April 2025 announcement of charges against 12 protesters, with one defendant working as a witness against the remaining 11 defendants. Stanford University is demanding $300,000 in restitution from the defendants, but their legal teams have not received a response to their attempts to initiate a dialogue.
Building Occupation Caused Extensive Damage
The June 5, 2024, incident began at 5:30 a.m. when protesters used hammers and crowbars to break into Building 10, which houses the university president’s office, according to prosecutors. The demonstrators barricaded themselves inside for three hours while others formed human chains outside, chanting slogans including “Palestine will be free”.
The protesters used spray paint to write “kill cops,” “death to Israel,” and “free Palestine” on walls, while they also broke windows and furniture, disabled security cameras, and distributed fake blood throughout the building. The estimated damage range from $360,000 to $1 million exceeds California’s felony vandalism threshold of $400.
Civil Rights Organization Raises Free Speech Concerns
CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo characterized the prosecutions as part of a “disturbing pattern of attempting to silence pro-Palestine, anti-genocide voices through intimidation”. The organization requested the dismissal of the charges to begin in April 2025, as they believe student protests fall under protected political speech.
“It is shameful that the District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office has decided to treat Stanford students calling for human rights as criminals,” Billoo stated.
The organization stated that criminalizing Palestinian solidarity activism creates an unsafe environment for civil liberties across the country because it resembles past student movements against war, apartheid, and racism.