The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today strongly condemned the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s decision to file felony charges against 12 students and alumni who participated in a June 5, 2024, protest at Stanford University in support of Palestinian human rights.
The decision marks a dangerous escalation in the ongoing effort to criminalize free speech and student activism—especially when that activism centers Palestinian lives.
The protest, organized by Stanford for Palestine, was part of a nationwide wave of student-led demonstrations demanding that institutions divest from companies profiting from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The students peacefully occupied the president’s office in an act of civil disobedience intended to confront the university’s complicity. Instead of addressing their demands or engaging in dialogue, Stanford administrators escalated the situation, and now the District Attorney has followed suit by filing excessive felony charges.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said:
“This is a shameful attempt to punish students for speaking out against genocide. Their actions were a form of political expression. Instead of listening to their demands for justice and accountability, our institutions have chosen repression. Prosecuting these young people with felony charges is a blatant attack on free speech.”
Stanford University has already suspended the students involved and denied graduating seniors their degrees—consequences that have sparked widespread concern across campus and beyond. The DA’s decision to pursue criminal charges compounds this repression and sends a chilling message to all who dare to stand in solidarity with Palestine.
Rather than treating this as a student conduct issue or a moment for institutional reflection, the university and District Attorney have responded with disproportionate force. Escalating this protest into a felony case—despite its clear political motivation—sets a troubling precedent. Student activists in past divestment movements have engaged in similar actions without facing criminal prosecution, particularly when their intent was to challenge institutional complicity, not to cause harm.
CAIR-SFBA also rejects the attempt to use financial claims as justification for silencing political dissent.
“We reject the idea that financial damage, however alleged, should be used to justify silencing political dissent,” said Billoo. “If the threshold for criminalizing protest is dollars lost, then universities are placing property above people, and profit above principle.”
The organization notes that civil disobedience has long played a vital role in social justice movements in the U.S. From the lunch counter sit-ins of the civil rights movement, to anti-apartheid building occupations in the 1980s, to Stanford’s own fossil fuel divestment campaigns—students have used disruption as a tool to demand moral clarity. In those cases, institutions exercised discretion. The decision to respond with felony charges now suggests a selective and politically motivated approach to punishment.
The charges at Stanford come amid a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian student activism across the country. In recent weeks, multiple international students have reportedly had their visas revoked or placed under review for participating in similar protests. This adds yet another layer of punishment—especially for Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students—whose advocacy is increasingly met with criminalization, surveillance, and threats to their futures.
CAIR-SFBA calls on the Santa Clara County District Attorney to drop all charges immediately and urges Stanford University to reverse its disciplinary actions. At a time when the global community is calling for an end to mass violence, punishing students for standing up against it is not just wrong—it is un-American.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-SFBA Communications Manager Lorrie Adam, 408.498.5779, ladam@cair.com