JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thirteen of the 16 people arrested during a Pro-Palestinian protest on the University of North Florida's campus had their day in court Monday. They were arrested on May 2, 2024 after refusing to leave campus by the 10 p.m. curfew put in place by UNF police.
The group call themselves the 'Jax 16.' They gathered outside the Duval County Courthouse before their arraignment to demand the State Attorney's Office drop their charges. Marlo Crosby, a junior at UNF, was one of the 16 people arrested.
“I would never advocate for anyone to go to jail. It was a horrible experience to be inside, and even though we were only detained for about 20 hours in total, it was a truly harrowing experience," Crosby said.
Crosby said the group plans to continue to push for change despite their looming court case. They continue to call on UNF to divest financially from companies with interest in Israel and to defend Palestine.
"It shows our resolve even after being arrested that we're still here, we're still standing up and fighting back even after being arrested," Crosby explained.
The protestors are each facing a misdemeanor trespassing charge. They all entered a not guilty plea.
All 16 protestors are being represented by attorney Marcus Barnett. He argued there are serious defects in the charging document. "The students were removed, ordered to leave because of a so called curfew, that we can't find any evidence of whatsoever. Nowhere in the rules governing, the use of the green, nowhere in the student conduct policy; there's no written curfew anywhere."
Barnett believes the university overstepped. He also claims officers did not have the authority to issue the trespassing warning.
"For a trespass warning, there are certain legal requirements that have to be followed in order for the police to have the lawful authority to issue a trespass warning. We see no evidence that those procedures were followed. In this case, that's one of the things we're asking the state to produce is the evidence they have showing that these officers are authorized by someone with authority to issue the trespass warning," Barnett said.
Barnett plans to meet with the State Attorney's Office to discuss dropping the charges and resolving the cases.
"These students, these young kids should not have criminal records coming out of this," Barnett said.
The State Attorney's Office told First Coast News they do not intend to drop the charges. A spokesperson said "the State has filed trespass charges against protestors who failed to follow lawful commands — they do not have the right to choose the laws they will or will not obey. We do not intend to drop the charges.”
First Coast News also reached out UNF to find out more about the curfew policy and trespass warning. A university spokesperson said they will not be commenting since this is still an open investigation.