No criminal charges will be filed in the videoed incident during which pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a University of Colorado Boulder class in April and were physically thrown out of the classroom.
The video clips, which were posted on social media and provided to the Daily Camera, show multiple pro-Palestinian student protesters entering a classroom on April 2. One protester walked to the front of the room to read from a piece of paper and was told by the professor to leave. Multiple video clips show what appear to be physical altercations that follow, including one clip of two men physically dragging a protester from the classroom. Another video clip also shows a man yanking and pulling a protester around by the person’s keffiyeh, which is a traditional Arab headdress.
The CU Boulder Police Department consulted with the Boulder County District Attorney’s office after reviewing the evidence in the investigation of the incident.
“After a careful evaluation, and under the consideration that the standard for filing criminal charges requires that there be a reasonable likelihood of conviction, the agencies determined that criminal charges would not be filed,” according to a CU Boulder statement.
The professor of the class was Andrew Meyer, according to a police report obtained through a public records request. Despite allegations by the Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine group that the professor had “violently assaulted” the protesting students, Meyer was listed as a witness on the police report, not a suspect. The university said there was no evidence that the instructor of the class broke any laws in the April 2 incident.
CU Boulder said it has excluded David Preedy from campus, who the university identified as an outside mentor who was in the classroom. During the incident, Preedy “grabbed” and “shoved” one of the women protesters out of the room and then “chased … down” the other protesters to forcibly remove their face and head coverings, according to the police report.
Per university policy, campus exclusions may be executed to ensure the safety and well-being of the campus community. CU Boulder spokesperson Nicole Mueksch said criminal charges are not required to execute a campus exclusion.
“Preedy mentioned that he was also fearful that they were going to harm the people in the classroom so he jumped up and forced them out of the classroom,” according to the police report. “He told me he grabbed the paper out of the hands of the suspect but they ended up getting control of it again. Preedy explained to me that he was afraid they may try and harm other people and that’s why he chased them down and tried to pull their masks off.”
CU Boulder said it cannot disclose actions involving students due to federal law, noting, however, that all students are subject to the CU Boulder Student Code of Conduct. Any student found responsible for violating the Student Code of Conduct will be subject to appropriate sanctions, the statement read.
“The safety of all students, faculty, staff and visitors at CU Boulder remains a top priority, and the university is committed to protecting public safety on campus while also supporting free speech that does not violate laws or university policies,” according to the statement. “CUPD appreciates the Boulder County District Attorney’s support in evaluating this case.”
At the time of the disruption, Meyer, the professor, was teaching “a class on matters involving defense security for the government,” according to the police report.
Meyer reported to the police that he “immediately was terrified” because the people who entered the classroom were wearing all black and were covered by face masks, so he felt that they “may have had weapons and malicious intent” to harm him and his students.
Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine was placed in bad standing by the university in October following reported policy violations. The group remains active but unaffiliated with CU Boulder.
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