All charges dropped against Stanford students who occupied president's office over Gaza

Five Stanford students who faced felony conspiracy and vandalism charges for a June 2024 occupation of the university president's office had all charges dropped this week, ending a case that carried potential prison time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution.

The resolution requires 100 hours of community service and about $50,000 in total restitution — far below the $1 million prosecutors initially threatened. Three students who had taken misdemeanor plea deals will also have those convictions withdrawn once they complete the service.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen was removed from the case in May after the students' legal team showed he had used the pending prosecution to solicit campaign donations on a webpage highlighting his work against antisemitism. The judge said the conflict would "render it unlikely that the defendants will receive fair treatment." The California attorney general's office took over and reached the deal.

Two students who went to trial, German Gonzalez and Amy Zhai, said the prosecution was meant to silence Palestine advocacy. "For everything that they threw at this case, they have failed," Zhai said.

Most students arrested at campus protests nationwide have seen charges dropped or resolved through diversion.