After shooting of Brown University student in Vermont, school will drop charges against protesters

Trespassing charges against 20 Brown University students arrested at a pro-Palestine protest this month will be dropped.

In a statement sent late Monday afternoon, Brown cited the recent shootings of three students of Palestinian descent in Vermont, one of whom is a Brown student.

"Given the unexpected circumstances of recent days, Brown University reached out to the city solicitor’s office today and asked that the trespass charges against the students be dismissed, and the city has agreed," the university said. However, it added that its "conduct process is moving forward as appropriate," suggesting the students will not escape repercussions.

The school said it would not offer any more comment on the disciplinary process.

Announcement made shortly before campus vigil

The announcement came half an hour before the start of a scheduled vigil for junior Hisham Awartani, one of the three men shot on Saturday in Burlington alongside Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad. All were hospitalized. The FBI, ATF, Burlington Police and other agencies are investigating.

Brown's statement reflected on the violence.

"The vicious attack against one of our students over the weekend in Vermont is reverberating across campus," the university said. "It has shaken some of our community members deeply, while others are struggling to process what this means, not only for our campus, but for this country and world that we all live in. There is so much confusion, fear and anger being felt right now that we feel this is a time to bring our community together and try to set aside issues that are exacerbating tensions and division on our campus."

More: Police arrest man in shooting of Brown student, 2 others of Palestinian descent in Vermont

In another notable move the day of the vigil, the university said it would bar journalists from accessing campus to cover it, telling them they could look on from the street instead. As of Monday night, the university had not answered questions from The Providence Journal on who specifically made the decision to deny media access.

Decision comes after much attention to arrests, pressure on Brown

Much media attention had already been focused on the student arrests, which took place the night of Nov. 8. Jewish students had gathered for a peaceful sit-in at University Hall, and according to Brown, were warned of consequences if they did not leave the building after business hours. They stayed, and were apprehended.

Before Thanksgiving break, the school gave no indications it would request that the charges be dropped. Instead, on Nov. 16, a campus safety officer delivered case packets to the Providence police's prosecution unit, complete with police reports and charging documents.

More: Brown student activists, seeking divestment, arrested at sit-in. What we know

The students were calling for the university to support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and divest from weapons manufacturers. Eventually, more than 200 faculty members called for the charges to be dropped, putting pressure on the school.

Brown's latest statement showed a change in tone.

"Dismissing the charges against the students certainly won’t heal the rising tensions on campus from the ongoing violence in the Middle East – or the hurt and fear from Islamophobia, antisemitism and acts of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian violence – but perhaps it can help refocus attention on other issues that are important for the Brown community," the university said.

Activist group responds: 'We will not forget the arrests'

Brown U Jews for Ceasefire Now, which organized the early November sit-in, said in a statement that its fight isn't over.

"We will not forget the arrests or the way the University continues to fail to keep its students—especially its most vulnerable students—safe," the group said. "The dropping of charges cannot be a distraction from the broader struggle for Palestinian liberation we join in."

The group also went on to express its outrage over the shooting of Awartani, and said university President Christina Paxson shared only "empty words."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Brown University drops charges against protesters after Burlington shooting