14 people arrested at Tulane protests and found not guilty

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fourteen people arrested earlier this year during protests at Tulane University against the war between Israel and Hamas were acquitted of minor criminal charges in New Orleans on Friday.

The individuals – some of them students at Tulane University or neighboring Loyola University – were arrested on May 1 after police broke up a two-day encampment at Tulane outside campus buildings on St. Charles Avenue. They were charged with “remaining in prohibited locations.”

New Orleans news outlets reported that state District Judge Ben Willard found the defendants not guilty the same day the trial began.

In their opening statements Friday morning, defense attorneys argued that the defendants were not on campus at the time of their arrest, but were on public sidewalks or street medians.

Dozens of supporters of the 14 people gathered outside the courthouse and in the hallways during the hearing.

The defendants are among hundreds arrested on university campuses nationwide during demonstrations against the war that followed Hamas's invasion of Israel on October 7. The protesters demanded that universities distance themselves from companies that support Israel's military campaign in Gaza and, in some cases, from Israel itself.