Ten UCI Protestors Charged for Failing to Disperse After Police Deemed Campus Protest an Unlawful Assembly
AL ENTESHAR AL ARABI NEWSPAPER:
Ten UCI Protestors Charged for Failing to Disperse After Police Deemed Campus Protest an Unlawful Assembly
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Ten protestors have been charged today for failing to disperse after University of California, Irvine police deemed a May 15, 2024, protest on the school’s campus to be an unlawful assembly and ordered the hundreds of protestors to leave. Orange County District Attorney prosecutors are reviewing evidence against the remaining 40 people who were arrested by police after dispersal orders were issued.
The first 10 defendants charged are:
Michael Chang, 29, of Irvine Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot
Jonathan Brook Haley, 51, of Oceanside Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot
Tiffany Willoughby Herard, 50 of Irvine Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot, one misdemeanor count of PC 69 – resisting a peace officer with the threat of violence, and one misdemeanor count of PC 148 – resisting arrest
Fantana Zadran, 39, of Irvine Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot
Rami Anabtawi, 40, of Silverado Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot
Miriam Castro, 27, of Irvine Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot
Kevyn Garcia, 24, of Upland Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot
Adel Shaker Hijazi, 40, of Irvine Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot
Angie Belen Monreal, 27, of Garden Grove Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot and one misdemeanor count of PC 148 – resisting arrest
Marah Quran, 20, of Irvine Charged with one misdemeanor count of PC 409 – failure to disperse at scene of riot
All ten defendants have been sent an arraignment letter with orders to appear at the Central Justice Center on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, to be arraigned on their respective charges. Today’s charged defendants include two UCI professors and four UCI students.
“The right to peaceful assembly is a constitutional right and we encourage protestors to exercise their right to peaceful assembly on any issue,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “However, criminal activity which transcends peaceful assembly will not be tolerated. As such, the Orange County District Attorney’s Special Prosecutions Unit has spent months reviewing evidence to determine what, if any, crimes were committed by protestors at UCI following the lawful dispersal order issued by UCI police. Accordingly, we have filed criminal charges against 10 individuals who failed to disperse from the May 15, 2024, protest and my prosecutors are continuing to review evidence against the remaining 40 arrestees.”
Click here for Full Press Release.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
