Eleven Stanford pro-Palestine protesters who barricaded themselves inside Building 10, the president’s office, as part of a protest in June 2024, were indicted on Monday by a Santa Clara County grand jury on charges of felony vandalism and trespassing.
After the break-in, officials found damage inside the building, while Main Quad was graffitied with messages such as “kill cops,” “death to Israel” and “free Palestine.” Thirteen people were arrested following the break-in, including one Daily reporter who was later cleared.
One of the 12 protesters was not indicted because they have “become a cooperating witness” and “is testifying against the 11,” defense attorney Jeff Wozniak wrote in an email to The Daily.
Prosecutors estimate that the protesters caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
“Stanford is demanding $300,000 in restitution. The legal team supporting the 11 have demanded a dialogue with the University, but so far no response has been received,” Wozniak wrote.
Wozniak sought a preliminary hearing to question the validity of the accusations before trial, but due to the indictment prosecution will move straight to trial proceedings.
Robert Baker, a deputy district attorney leading the case, wrote in an email to The Daily that he expects the trial to occur before the end of the year.
“We presented the case to the grand jury to get it to trial as soon as possible and conserve judicial resources,” Baker wrote.
Baker told KQED News that the decisions in this case were made entirely by the district attorney’s office without any outside pressure from Stanford.
The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.
Amanda Campos ‘26, a member of Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), said that the occupation of the president’s office was a warranted instance of civil disobedience.
“Students acted to break through indifference, to force attention on an injustice that holding signs outside an office could never achieve,” she said. “DA Rosen is wasting judicial resources to score points in a Trumpian attack on free speech and dissent, consistent with his history of overcharging.”
The indicted students will be arraigned on Oct. 6 at 9 a.m. at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
This article has been updated to reflect the accurate timing of the expected trial and include why the only 11 of the 12 protesters were indicted.