On July 18, Grafton assistant county attorney Mariana Pastore filed charges against the remaining protesters arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest on May 1, the Valley News reported. Pastore declined to press charges against four individuals — including history professor Annelise Orleck — and moved misdemeanor charges to violations for 20 individuals.
Police arrested 89 individuals at the May 1 protest on the Green. “Almost all” were arrested for violating state criminal trespassing laws, Hanover Police Department lieutenant Mike Schibuola told The Dartmouth in May. The 20 individuals charged last week are scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 5 in Lebanon District Court.
Pastore previously declined to press charges against at least 28 individuals and moved 35 misdemeanor charges to violations, The Dartmouth reported last month. On May 7, she dropped charges and vacated bail conditions against two reporters for The Dartmouth who were arrested while reporting on the protest.
A violation charge is less severe than a misdemeanor and — although it may involve a fine or court fee — does not result in jail time or a criminal record, The Dartmouth reported on June 27. According to the Valley News, Andrew Tefft — a Hanover High School graduate — is the only person arrested during the May 1 protest still facing a misdemeanor charge for resisting arrest. In New Hampshire, misdemeanors can carry up to one year in jail.
Tefft declined a request for comment.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Orleck said her lawyer told her that Orleck has to pursue a “separate action” to vacate her bail conditions, which bar her from the Green, Parkhurst Hall and the President’s residence at 14 Webster Ave.
“I just want to highlight the absurdity of the assertion that it’s a risk to Dartmouth for me to be on … certain places on campus, but it’s not a risk for me to be teaching and engaging with my students,” Orleck said. “These bans are really outrageous, and the College needs to call to have them vacated.”
According to Orleck, Pastore has said “very little” about why some individuals’ charges have been dropped and others have not.
Pastore did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication.
Orleck speculated that her charges may have been dropped due to circulated recordings of her arrest, which show riot police officers pushing and dragging the history professor on the ground.
“The particulars of my case — being roughed up on video — … probably would have made it challenging … or perhaps embarrassing to pursue the case,” Orleck said.
Orleck called upon the College to apologize to her, students and members of the community who were “subject to violence” due to “decisions that the College made.”
“In my mind, the only justice is for the College to do what they have not yet done: apologize, … ask the prosecutor to drop all charges against everyone … and to promise that they will not call riot police on campus again to break up peaceful protest,” Orleck said.
The ongoing cases have drawn criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire. In an open letter on July 17, ACLU-NH deputy legal director Henry Klementowicz called upon College President Sian Leah Beilock and University of New Hampshire president James Dean Jr. to request that local prosecutors drop all remaining charges against individuals arrested at the two schools on May 1.
“These are steps that your institutions can easily take, as your institutions do have roles and responsibilities amidst this criminal process and should use this legally-authorized influence accordingly,” Klementowicz wrote.
