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Protesters and state police respond to dropped charges

By Ethan Sandweiss

Posted June 3, 2024

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State Police Superintendent Doug Carter "feels the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office caved to political pressure." Those arrested say they aren't surprised the charges didn't stick. (Devan Ridgway / WFIU-WTIU)

This story has been updated with comment from the prosecutor's office.

The Monroe County Prosecutor’s office is dropping criminal trespass charges against pro-Gaza demonstrators arrested at Dunn Meadow, calling the University’s response “constitutionally dubious.”

But not everyone agrees.

State Police Public Information Officer Ron Galaviz told Indiana Public Media that Superintendent Doug Carter believes the local prosecutor’s office “caved to political pressure.”

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeffrey Kehr did not respond in time for this story’s publication.

Galaviz sent a statement from Carter in an email:

“The Prosecutor’s Office was engaged with us before it all happened and agreed with what we were doing. I think these kinds of decisions can lead to lawlessness and embolden illegal activity in the future on that campus. We continue to stand with the University and the other 38,000 residents there to ensure they don’t live in fear, while also protecting everyone’s right to peacefully protest.”

The Indiana State Police made arrests on April 25 and 27 to enforce a campus assembly policy the university changed on April 24.

In a past interview with Indiana Public Media, Carter accused protesters of engaging in antisemitic hate speech and said that the First Amendment “is not endless.”

“Let's leave that for the lawyers,” he said. “Let's leave that for the process that could occur after this.”

Kehr sent a response to Indiana Public Media on Tuesday morning:

Prosecuting Attorney Erika Oliphant made the decision to decline prosecution against those arrested for criminal trespass in Dunn Meadow on April 25 and April 27, 2024, after she and her staff carefully reviewed all reports, affidavits, videos, and photographs submitted to her office by the Indiana University Police Department and Indiana State Police.

Prior to the arrests in Dunn Meadow, Chief Deputy Jeff Kehr was invited to and did attend virtual meetings hosted by Indiana University Superintendent of Public Safety Ben Hunter. Law enforcement tactics were not discussed or approved, and it is outside of the prosecutorial function and inappropriate for our office to advise or approve of law enforcement tactics. Mr. Kehr made it clear in those meetings that our office would not commit to filing criminal charges for trespass, and he stressed that IU’s policy needed to be on firm constitutional footing to enforce trespass.

The charging function is the prerogative and responsibility of the prosecuting attorney. As is our regular practice, we review every case referred to us by law enforcement and make case-by-case determinations as to what, if any, criminal charges are appropriate and against whom by applying the law to the admissible evidence presented to us. We do so without regard to public opinion or other inappropriate considerations. We are guided by our ethical duty to seek justice and to protect the constitutional rights of all.

Some of those arrested are unsurprised that the prosecutor dropped trespassing charges.

Jess Tang, an IU staff member who was arrested on April 27, said they weren’t particularly worried about being prosecuted. They added that a team of people helped those arrested to communicate with the prosecutor’s office.

“We knew that the chances of us being charged are probably not great,” Tang said. “Everyone we asked who had a background in the legal system told us that was probably the case.”

Police arrested graduate student Madeleine Meldrum on April 25, when tents first went up in Dunn Meadow. She expected charges to be dropped but said she was kept in suspense too long.

“It really was very frustrating to not know what was happening, and then we just found out through posts that other people shared,” she said. “We weren't even directly contacted about the charges at any point.”

Meldrum also is a plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit against IU’s no trespass orders for protesters.

Despite all trespassing charges being dismissed, some IU community members remain banned from campus.

According to the IU Police Department, 51 of the 56 successfully appealed their bans. IUPD offered three others a hearing before deciding their cases, and two remain under review. IU said previously that its policies are intended to balance safety with free speech.

George Hale contributed to this report.