Knox County drops criminal charges for pro-Palestinian protesters at University of Tennessee

Police officers in Knoxville arrest pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Tennessee in June 2024. (Photo: Angela Dennis)

Criminal charges against University of Tennessee students and community members indicted last year for participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus have been dismissed following the completion of 100 hours of community service, the Knox County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday.

Eleven  protesters were originally charged in June 2024 with criminal trespassing — a Class C misdemeanor —  under Tennessee law enacted in 2022 that bans unauthorized camping on public property. The arrests came after a rally held on university grounds. 

During the demonstrations, participants called on the University of Tennessee to take several actions, including cutting ties with Israeli weapons manufacturers, halting study abroad programs in Israel, publicly disclosing its financial investments, and divesting from companies connected to Israel.

Attorney Dillon Zinser Nehls, who represents one of the protesters, said the dismissals validate the defense’s position that the prosecutions were an overreach.

“There’s no doubt that any future protesters are going to remember what happened that day, and this whole ordeal has had a chilling effect on freedom of speech and the right to peacefully protest in Tennessee,” Zinser Nehls said. But this group is not deterred. I would hope that in the future anyone would be able to exercise their First Amendment rights on the University of Tennessee campus without fear of retaliation. Because at the end of the day, what this was about was people being arrested because the University didn’t agree with their message.” 

Knox County grand jury indicts University of Tennessee pro-Palestinian protesters

Prominent Knoxville business owner Yassin Terrou, who was among those arrested and completed the required community service hours required by the group, called the case an abuse of power.

“After over a year of arrests and court proceedings, the state has now been forced to dismiss the case because it never had one to begin with,” Terrou said. “This should have never happened, and it shows how the system was not used for justice but for intimidation and fear.”

Terrou also urged the university to lift the trespassing bans and welcome protesters back to campus.

“UTK should be known as a place where people are not afraid to share their opinions peacefully, not as a place where peaceful voices are silenced or punished,” he said.

Zinser Nehls added that the next step is to meet with university officials to determine how the trespassing orders will be handled moving forward.

University officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Two of the protesters are still pursuing civil litigation against UT and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, alleging violations of their First Amendment rights.