DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Protesters arrested as law enforcement cleared an encampment on Emory University’s campus rallied again before heading to court on Wednesday afternoon.
Of the people who were due in court, only three of them appeared on Wednesday. They’re facing several charges from criminal trespass to obstruction.
Not a single one was an Emory student, staff member or professor at any time, but definitely not when they were arrested in April of last year.
Despite it being 15 months since their arrest, Wednesday was their arraignment.
Erica Kadel told Channel 2’s Candace McCowan that she was hoping to walk away from the DeKalb County Courthouse on Wednesday with her charges dropped.
Instead, she and two others who were charged alongside her entered not guilty pleas.
“We did nothing wrong,” Kadel told McCowan.
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Kadel is one of 28 people that police arrested in April 2024 during a pro-Palestine encampment on Emory University’s quad.
Channel 2 Action News was there when Georgia State Patrol troopers, along with Emory police officers, arrested several dozen people that day.
GSP said protesters threw bottles and refused to leave.
Kadel, who is facing charges of criminal trespass and obstructing an officer, is accused of blocking a transport van.
She, like the others in court on Wednesday, said they’re not affiliated with Emory.
“It doesn’t matter when we are talking about a genocide. We all have a responsibility as human beings, and also as people who are subject to international law, to speak up against genocide,” Kadel said.
Several others arrested that day have had their charges dropped, but Kadel is convinced she’s facing charges because she wasn’t Emory-affiliated.
“What I think they are trying to do is make an example of those of us that are part of the community who were supporting the Emory students,” Kadel said.
What is next for these defendants? They have another court date set for next month, where they’ll indicate if they want a jury trial.
But in the meantime, their attorneys told McCowan that they’re talking with prosecutors to see what their next steps will be.
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