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ISU student protestors sentenced for pro-Palestinian sit-in

Police officers hold three people who are handcuffed and standing on a street and sidewalk
Eric Stock
/
WGLT file
Seven Illinois State University students were arrested on trespassing charges in May for refusing to leave the university administration building.

Seven Illinois State University students will serve 18 months of court supervision and pay fines for criminal trespassing.

Jomareun Richardson, Kevin Dion, Rebekah Mangels, Aidan Marcikic, Steven Lazaroff, Joseph Bloom-Boedefeld and Daniel Kimball were arrested on May 3 while staging an after-hours sit-in in the campus administration building. The pro-Palestinian protestors requested to meet with ISU President Aondover Tarhule and demanded the university's divestment from financial backers with ties to Israel.

In a sentencing hearing Oct. 7, the students pleaded guilty to one count of criminal trespassing, a class B misdemeanor. According to the McLean County circuit clerk, a second class A misdemeanor of criminal trespassing on state land was dismissed.

The seven students collectively filed a civil suit this summer, claiming the university violated their first amendment rights. That case is ongoing and has been moved to a federal court. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 6.

Lauren Warnecke is a reporter at WGLT. You can reach Lauren at lewarne@ilstu.edu.