Jury Deadlocked in Trial of Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators at Stanford

A judge declared a mistrial on Friday in the case of five current and former Stanford students charged in connection with pro-Palestinian protests that included breaking into the university president’s office and barricading themselves inside. The defendants faced felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass charges, carrying a maximum sentence of three years and eight months.

The jury deadlocked, with nine jurors for and three against convicting on the vandalism charge, and eight for and four against convicting on conspiracy, and the court was unable to reach a verdict. Jeff Rosen, the Santa Clara County district attorney, said he planned to retry the case; he had initially charged 12 protesters, but the rest accepted plea deals or diversion programs.

A conference date later this month will be used to set a new trial date. Prosecutors say the events began on June 5, 2024, when police arrested 13 people after they broke into the president’s office early that morning and barricaded themselves inside.

United States, Santa Clara County

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