A group of University of Minnesota students and graduates arrested for protesting ICE are urging a Hennepin County judge to dismiss the charges against them.
The 27 defendants were arrested by University of Minnesota police in January at a protest outside the Graduate Hotel. Student organizers said they heard from hotel staff and observers that ICE agents were staying in the building, and they staged a noise demonstration outside late into the night.
They are facing state charges for unlawful assembly.
The group appeared in Hennepin County District Court Thursday morning. Attorney Karmen McQuitty, who is representing the group, said in court that she plans to file a motion to have the case dismissed.
“We believe this is a political case,” McQuitty told judge Jennifer Olson during the hearing. “Our clients are on the right side of history.”
On Thursday, prosecutors with the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office offered to resolve the case for defendants who agreed to complete eight hours of community service and pay $178 in fines. Four of the defendants accepted the offer; the rest will continue arguing their case.
Emil Chu, a 2024 graduate from the U of M, is one of the defendants. He did not take the deal prosecutors offered. He said protesters shouldn’t face charges – and potentially a trial – for opposing ICE’s presence in the city.
“We thought it was highly objectionable that ICE agents were staying so close to our campus, especially since we have a vulnerable population of international students,” Chu said. “Unlawful assembly is not a worthwhile charge that the city should be pursuing and spending city employee time and city tax dollars on.”
McQuitty, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild, has asked prosecutors to turn over evidence related to the defendants’ arrests, including body worn camera footage and records of any statements defendants made. She filed that request in March; prosecutors have not yet submitted those documents to the court.
Judge Olson set another hearing for July. She asked McQuitty to file a formal motion to dismiss the case before then, and for prosecutors to submit a response.
McQuitty said protesters should not be facing charges for the incident.
“The fact that two ICE agents killed two people, and they aren't facing charges yet, and these young people, who just stood there with whistles and phones and their voices, are being prosecuted, is untenable to me,” McQuitty said.
The city attorney’s office declined to comment on pending litigation.
