Over three dozen protestors arrested at Ohio State University demonstrations in April are still waiting for their day in court.
All but one of the 39 peaceful protestors arrested in April are awaiting their pre-trial proceedings in Franklin County Municipal Court. One case involving 24-year-old Aaron Ellington, of Columbus, has been resolved.
Ellington pled guilty to the misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge every arrested protestor was charged with. Ellington had to pay a $50 fine. A maximum sentence for the fourth-degree misdemeanor is 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.
The 38 other cases have been assigned to several different Franklin County judges and the next events scheduled for most cases are pre-trial proceedings in late July. Those defendants pled not guilty to their charges.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein's office declined to comment further on the cases. In May, Klein said his office would review the charges.
Protestors have asked the city to dismiss the charges, but Klein's office said it is still in discussion with the defense attorneys about the best way to proceed.
Demonstrations started on Ohio State University's campus just days after the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas and the start of Israel's military response days later.
The protests peaked on April 25 when hundreds of people gathered on the South Oval hours after Ohio State University police arrested three people earlier in the day. Police broke up the large demonstration just after nightfall, arresting dozens more demonstrators.
The protests remained peaceful. The demonstrators set up tents in the middle of the crowd, which OSU officials said violated the university's space rules policy.
The war Israel has waged against Hamas has leveled Gazan cities, forcing thousands of Palestinians from their homes and resulted in the displacement of more than one million people. Israel has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are believed to be women and children.
More than 1,000 Israelis, the majority of whom are believed to be civilians, have been killed since the conflict was started on Oct. 7. Many still remain hostages of Hamas as the two sides attempt to negotiate an end to hostilities and secure the hostages' release.
Mazen Rasoul, the defense attorney for most of the defendants, did not respond to WOSU's request for comment before deadline.
