Anti-war protesters from Auraria face court, several arrested fight against trespassing charges

It has been about three months since pro-Palestinian protesters ended their anti-war camp on Denver's Auraria campus, but the trials of some of those arrested during the demonstration have only just begun.

In late April, several dozen students from the three universities on the Auraria campus – the University of Colorado Denver, the Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver – set up camp on the Tivoli Quad. Along with some members of the local community, the protesters joined a nationwide movement of students protesting the war in Gaza, which began in October when Hamas killed more than 1,000 Israelis and abducted more than 200 others. Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel's counterattack.

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Early in the camp, multiple law enforcement agencies, including Denver police and sheriff's deputies, were called to break up the protest on campus. More than 40 protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing. About half of those arrested were students and at least three were professors.

Students and professors face disciplinary action

Alex Boodrookas, a professor of Middle Eastern history, was one of those arrested by police. He was leaving a faculty meeting when he and other professors saw police at the camp.

“We freaked out. We were extremely concerned about the safety of the students because any time you call the police in a peaceful situation, you risk escalation, you risk violence,” Boodrookas told Denverite. “So we were afraid for the safety of our students and three of us sat down with them. We ended up being arrested and now facing charges.”

Boodrookas, whose trial begins in court on Wednesday, said prosecutors later added a charge of disobeying a police officer's orders. If found guilty, he faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Boodrookas said he thought prosecutors might drop the charges, similar to what happened at larger, more high-profile protests, such as at Columbia University, but that did not happen.

“I am astonished that I am being accused of trespassing when I was on my own campus, about a minute's walk from my office, in the middle of the day, on a school day,” he said.

Boodrookas did not participate in the protests full-time, like many other students and community members. As a professor of modern Middle Eastern history, he felt a responsibility to defend students who wanted to raise awareness about conditions in Gaza. He said he has spent his career dispelling misconceptions about conflict in the Middle East, and the suppression of student protests only makes his job more difficult.

While Boodrookas said he did not fear reprisal from his current employer, he feared that a criminal record could affect his professional future.

“It was a McCarthy-like environment in Middle East studies [industry] the last ten months,” he said.

Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

Auraria campus officials have said they support free speech but remain committed to the anti-war camp and that those arrested violated a long-standing camping ban that was put in place shortly after a similar anti-war camp in 2003.

“During the encampment in April and May 2024, protester tactics escalated many times beyond peaceful protests, and there were indications of trespassing, biohazard threats, blockades of city streets, and vandalism on the Auraria campus,” a campus spokesperson said via email.

Khalid Hamu, a CU Denver student who was one of the main organizers of the camp, faces similar charges. He said that in addition to facing similar charges to Boodrooka's, his participation in the protest led to him being placed on “student disciplinary action” that resulted in a suspended sentence.

“I think it's a punishment for being on the side of justice,” Hamu said. “I think it's a punishment for being disgusted by the actions of the university administration and things like that, and then only going after the easiest targets and so on.”

Further protests in Auraria are possible and are taking place nationwide again

The protesters demanded that the university administrations at all three campuses and the University of Colorado take a variety of actions regarding the ongoing war in Gaza, including issuing statements opposing violence against the Palestinian population and cutting financial ties with military contractors operating in Israel.

Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

These demands largely went unmet. Protesters received minor concessions from MSU Denver in the form of the university's willingness to disclose its investments, but the group's biggest demands were never recognized by governing bodies.

This inaction by campus authorities has some students nervous. Auraria's Students for a Democratic organized a pre-semester march last week, and more protests are planned.

“We have a rally [Wednesday]probably more rallies and things like that will follow, but yes, [we] We are still campaigning and will take positive action to bring about change,” said Hamu.

Meanwhile, colleges across the country are bracing for more pro-Palestinian protests when students return to campus. Anti-war actions have already begun at some colleges. One prominent example is the University of Michigan: student activists have gained control of the student government and refused to fund campus clubs unless their demands are met.