Does the First Amendment Still Exist in Champaign-Urbana? Judge Says No

Report Back from Yafa Issa Court Hearing.

State’s Attorney Julia Rietz sat nodding her head in agreement as Judge Webber read his decision on a motion to dismiss filed by Yafa Issa and her attorney Evan Bruno on First Amendment grounds. Yafa Issa and others are in court for mob action charges stemming from a pro-Gaza encampment demonstration last year on the University of Illinois campus. Judge Webber denied the motion claiming that protesters “don’t get your first choice” for where to hold a demonstration. The judge agreed that university policy did not include tents, but said students should have requested a permit for them.

This decision, of course, comes on the heels of ICE’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a lead protester at Columbia University. It was a crushing blow to the approximately 20 supporters in the courtroom.

An additional charge of obstructing justice was filed against both Issa and Sachi Roy who was also in court. This is a common practice by prosecutors known as “stacking” the charges against an individual to further pressure them into taking a plea deal. Both Issa and Roy seem determined to fight their charges.