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Stanford Protesters Charged for Building Takeover

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged a dozen people for breaking into a Stanford University campus building last year, barricading themselves inside, and vandalizing administrative offices&period;&NewLine;During the takeover, the 12 masked individuals – whose ages ranged from 19 to 32 – broke windows and furniture, splashed fake blood, and disabled security cameras&period; Damages were estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars&period;&NewLine;The perpetrators are charged with felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass&period; They will be arraigned later this month at the Hall of Justice in San Jose&period; If convicted, they face incarceration and restitution&period;&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Dissent is American&period; Vandalism is criminal,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;There is a bright line between making a point and committing a crime&period; These defendants crossed the line into criminality when they broke into those offices, barricaded themselves inside, and started a calculated plan of destruction&period;”&NewLine;At around 5&colon;30 a&period;m&period; on June 5, 2024, protests began outside the closed Building 10 on the Stanford campus – the site of the university president’s office&period; Some individuals spray painted the outside of the building, while someone shattered a window&period; Before the cameras were covered, multiple suspects were recorded carrying equipment into Building 10 and barricading doorways using ladders, furniture, and additional equipment they brought into the building&period; Suspects inside the building began recording social media videos that listed a series of demands&period;&NewLine;The Stanford University Department of Public Safety responded to the scene and requested help from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the Palo Alto Police Department&period; Breaking through the barricades, law enforcement officers began making entry at approximately 7&colon;00 a&period;m&period; Thirteen individuals that included current and former Stanford students were arrested inside the previously barricaded building&period;&NewLine;The interior of Building 10 suffered significant damage during the occupation&period; This included damage caused by forced entry into offices, ransacked office space, damaged doorframes and furniture, and items damaged by fake blood spattered throughout the building&period; The protesters’ backpacks containing food and tools were recovered inside the building&period; The tools included forcible entry tools such as an electric grinder, hammers, crowbars, chisels, screwdrivers, goggles, numerous straps, and cables&period;&NewLine;Multiple cell phones were recovered from the arrestees&period; All the phones, other than the one seized from a student reporter, were searched pursuant to signed search warrants&period; A review of the cell phone data resulted in detailed communication about the planning and commission of the conspiracy, including encrypted text-messages and links to detailed operational plans&period; The communication indicated the suspects met on multiple occasions, days in advance, to conspire to take over the building&period; It also contained discussions about pre-operational surveillance, forcing entry into the building, using lookouts to alert suspects to responding law enforcement, wearing layered clothing and/or changing clothes in an attempt to avoid being identified, bringing supplies and tools required for the takeover, and practicing barricading techniques&period; The communication included a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;DO-IT-YOURSELF OCCUPATION GUIDE,” which included the following quote&colon;&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Vandalism&quest; Occupying a space removes the space from the capitalist landscape&period; A group may decide it is better to destroy or vandalize a space than to return it to its usual role in good condition&period; The role of vandalism may be different in each situation, but it should not be disowned outright&period;”&NewLine;A student journalist, who had embedded with the protesters but did not participate in the vandalism, was not charged&period;&NewLine;

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