The Travis County Attorney dropped 79 trespassing charges for those arrested at the April 29th pro-Palestine protest on Wednesday. 

At a press conference, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza announced the move only involved individuals charged with criminal trespass on April 29 on the South Mall. She said the charges are being dropped because they cannot be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt.” She said no other charges were dropped. 

“After examining and weighing all the evidence presented, we have determined that we cannot meet our legal burden … and (the charges) will be dismissed,” Garza said. 

On the first day of protests on April 24, 56 arrests were made, and the trespassing charges were dropped the next day. During the April 29 protest, 79 others were arrested for trespassing. Garza said these charges were not dropped immediately because police officers had probable cause to make the arrests, requiring prosecutors to look into the cases further.

“I hope that our community reflects on the direction we seem to be going in as a state,” Garza said. “The decisions that were made in response to these protests continues to show the (severe) lack of leadership we expect from our elected leaders as they continue to prioritize extreme government overreach over actual public safety.”