A Santa Clara County judge declared a mistrial on Feb. 13 after jurors deadlocked in the case against five current and former Stanford University students accused of occupying the university president’s office during a June 2024 anti-Israel protest and causing extensive damage.
The five protesters faced charges of felony vandalism and conspiracy to trespass. Robert Baker, a deputy district attorney, told JNS that the jury count was 8-4 guilty on the conspiracy charge and 9-3 guilty on the vandalism charge.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen told JNS that “this case is about a group of people who destroyed someone else’s property and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.”
“That is against the law, and that is why we will retry the case,” Rosen said.
Tali Klima, spokeswoman for the Bay Area Jewish Coalition, told JNS that “regardless of their cause or political beliefs, these students committed crimes and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
“By declaring its intent to retry the case, the district attorney’s office has affirmed that the safety of Jews, students, and indeed, the entire community is its top priority,” Klima said.
