(LOS ANGELES) – Today, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced that her office has made filing decisions stemming from the 2024 arrests that took place at mass protests at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC).
The City Attorney’s Office received over 300 referrals from arrests made during the mass protests on the campuses of UCLA and USC in April and May, 2024, and declined to file criminal charges on most of the referrals. Most of these cases were declined for evidentiary reasons or due to a university’s failure or inability to assist in identification or other information needed for prosecution. Both universities were also the scene of arrests for criminal conduct that compromised the safety of other individuals or the public, for which other filing decisions, including criminal charges, have been made.
“After careful consideration, we are filing criminal charges against two individuals and sending three others to City Attorney Hearings,” said Hydee Feldstein Soto, Los Angeles City Attorney. “I want to thank the attorneys in my Criminal Branch for their dedication to the rule of law and their commitment to objectively evaluating the evidence and referrals received on each of these matters.”
The City Attorney supports the lawful exercise of speech and assembly and her Office is committed to protecting every individual’s Constitutional rights to public speech and lawful public protest. As the Chief Prosecutor for the City of Los Angeles, the City Attorney and her Office are responsible for evaluating and prosecuting misdemeanors committed by adults within the City. Prosecution decisions are made by evaluating the facts and circumstances of each incident and of an individual’s conduct to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to prove each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
The review process was handled by the City Attorney’s Criminal Branch.
Breakdown of UCLA-Referred Arrests
- UCLA Police Department (UCPD) referred 205 arrests from the 5/1/2024 & 5/2/2024 mass UCLA protests, each of which was declined for filing due to insufficient evidence.
- UCPD also referred 40 arrests from the UCLA protest on 5/6/2024, each of which was declined for filing due to insufficient evidence.
Breakdown of USC Arrests
- LAPD referred 93 arrests from the 4/24/2024 USC mass protest, each of which was declined for filing due to insufficient evidence.
Both of the protests at UCLA and USC also resulted in referrals for criminal conduct separate and apart from protesting, broken down as follows:
- Four matters which were declined for insufficient evidence.
- Three matters which were referred to a City Attorney Hearing, an informal pre-filing diversion proceeding that is conducted as an alternative to a misdemeanor criminal prosecution.
- Ali Abuamouneh (USC)
- Karla Maria Aguilar (USC)
- David Fischel (UCLA)
- Two matters which resulted in the filing of criminal charges:
- Edan On was charged with PC 242 and PC 417(a)(1) stemming from alleged conduct on the UCLA campus.
- Matthew Katz was charged with PC 242, PC 236, and PC 148(a)(1), also stemming from alleged conduct at UCLA.
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Hydee Feldstein Soto is the 43rd Los Angeles City Attorney, elected in November 2022 and sworn into office in December 2022. Her team of nearly 1,000 legal professionals, including more than 500 attorneys, carries out legal work for the City of Los Angeles at her direction and under her supervision. She is the first female City Attorney in L.A. history.