Masked anti-Israel Stanford protesters charged in destructive campus building takeover

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office recently charged a dozen people with breaking into a Stanford University campus building, barricading themselves inside and vandalizing administrative offices during a destructive anti-Israel protest at the elite liberal Northern California school last June. 

Prosecutors said the 12 masked people, whose ages ranged from 19 to 32, allegedly “broke windows and furniture, splashed fake blood and disabled security cameras.” 

There was allegedly hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office.

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Each of the accused is charged with felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass, according to officials. They will be arraigned later this month at the Hall of Justice in San Jose and, if convicted, will face incarceration and restitution.

At about 5:30 a.m. on June 5, 2024, protests started outside then-closed Building 10 on Stanford’s campus, which houses the university president’s office. Agitators spray-painted the outside of the building, while another person shattered a window, according to the release.

“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,” according to the DA’s office. 

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Officials said other protesters inside the building started recording social media videos that “listed a series of demands.” Anti-Israel protests sprung up at university campuses across the U.S. last year, with protesters demanding their universities divest from companies doing business with Israel as the war in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas terrorists for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel continued. 

The Stanford University Department of Public Safety responded and requested help from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the Palo Alto Police Department. 

Officers were able to break through the barricades at about 7 a.m. and arrested 13 people, some of which were current and former Stanford students, according to the DA’s office.

There was damage to offices, door frames, furniture and items defaced with fake blood spatter in Building 10, according to the release. As reported by Fox News Digital last June, photos shared on X by StopAntisemitism showed graffiti on the wall with slurs like: “Kill cops,” “Burn this s— down,” and “Death to Israel.” The group chanted “Palestine will be free, we will free Palestine.”

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Protesters’ backpacks were recovered inside the building and included forcible entry tools such as an electric grinder, hammers, crowbars, chisels, screwdrivers, goggles, numerous straps and cables.  

Cellphones recovered from those who were arrested showed encrypted text messages and links to detailed operational plans, according to officials. 

Prosecutors allege the communication “indicated the suspects met on multiple occasions, days in advance, to conspire to take over the building,” according to the release. 

“Dissent is American. Vandalism is criminal,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen. “There is a bright line between making a point and committing a crime. These defendants crossed the line into criminality when they broke into those offices, barricaded themselves inside, and started a calculated plan of destruction.”

A “DO-IT-YOURSELF OCCUPATION GUIDE” shared in the communication stated, “Vandalism? Occupying a space removes the space from the capitalist landscape. A group may decide it is better to destroy or vandalize a space than to return it to its usual role in good condition. The role of vandalism may be different in each situation, but it should not be disowned outright.”

A student journalist, who had embedded with the protesters but did not participate in the vandalism, was not charged.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.