Four fined for Ohio State pro-Palestine protests

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Four people were each fined $50 after pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct charge tied to the pro-Palestine protests on the Ohio State University campus earlier this year.

According to court documents, the four were initially charged with criminal trespass but had the charge reduced to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. They entered their pleas on Wednesday.

The four people are the first of about 35 protesters arrested in late April at Ohio State to plead guilty. The remaining cases are scheduled to appear in court over the next few weeks.

The protests, held over a number of days towards the end of the Spring 2024 semester, called for Ohio State to disclose, and ultimately divest, its investments in companies tied to Israel’s war in Gaza.

The protests drew both support and condemnation from politicians and university administration. Ohio State University President Ted Carter defended the arrests, saying they were “not about limiting free speech,” but to avoid “significant safety issues” he said arose at anti-war encampments at other universities at the time.

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