A county prosecutor in Texas has refused to charge scores of students arrested at the University of Texas in Austin for trespassing, citing lack of legally required probable cause for the busts following a nonviolent campus demonstration against the war in Gaza.
The students were arrested Wednesday after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called out state troops to crack down on the prostesters, insisting that participants "belong in jail."
But legitmate "legal concerns were raised by defense counsel" about the law enforcement action, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza's office said in a statement to The Hill on Thursday.
"We individually reviewed each case that was presented and agreed there were deficiencies in the probable cause affidavits," which are supposed to justify arrests, said a statement from Garza's office.
Charges were subsequently dropped against 47 students.
"We will continue to individually review all cases presented to our office to determine whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate," the office said.
The arrests occurred during a campus demonstration after more than 500 students walked out of class to demand that the university divest from manufacturers supplying Israel weapons being used in its strikes on Gaza that have killed 34,000 Palestinians.
The university issued a statement later saying that people from outside the university community were involved in the protest to "disrupt and create disorder."
Hundreds of students and faculty have been arrested nationwide at universities in pro-Palestinian protests.
