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Stanford Won’t Discipline Student Journalist Arrested During Pro-Palestinian Protest

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Hoover Tower on the Stanford University campus on April 9, 2019.  (Rachael Myrow/KQED)

More than seven months after a former Stanford University student journalist was arrested while covering a pro-Palestinian protest, the school confirmed it would not discipline him.

The news comes as a relief to the student, Dilan Gohill, though top university officials have not walked back previous statements supporting the criminal prosecution of Gohill in Santa Clara County.

“I think that the university realized that punishing a journalist for doing their job was probably not a great idea for an institution of higher learning,” Max Szabo, an attorney and a spokesperson for Gohill, said about the discipline decision.

“But I have to say, we’re still a little troubled by the fact that the university hasn’t come out and very clearly and unequivocally called on the district attorney not to pursue criminal actions,” Szabo continued.

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Gohill was one of 13 people arrested on June 5 when protesters broke into the president’s office and barricaded themselves inside before law enforcement later entered and removed them. Gohill, who was reporting on the incident for The Stanford Daily, was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on charges of burglary, vandalism and conspiracy.

The Bay Area-based First Amendment Coalition and the Virginia-based Student Press Law Center received a letter from Stanford President Jonathan Levin on Monday that said the school’s disciplinary process regarding Gohill “is complete and resulted in no disciplinary action.”

KQED News obtained a copy of the letter. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the development on Wednesday. Levin was replying to a Jan. 17 letter from the two press freedom organizations, which have advocated for ending all disciplinary and legal action against Gohill.

“Because of the university’s disappointing and very public role in this ordeal, we request that you publicly confirm that Gohill will face no university disciplinary action and that you urge the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office not to pursue charges against him,” the letter to Levin said.

Gohill has also received support from The Stanford Daily editors and school alumni groups.

The school’s previous president, Richard Saller, and Provost Jenny Martinez, said in a June 10 statement that they believe Gohill “acted in violation of the law and university policies and fully support having him be criminally prosecuted and referred to Stanford’s Office of Community Standards along with the other students.”

However, in his response to advocates backing Gohill this week, Levin said he’d leave the judgment of whether to prosecute Gohill up to the Santa Clara County district attorney.

Jean-Paul Jassy, an attorney for Gohill, said Stanford’s actions don’t make any sense.

“They should be saying, ‘We were wrong, we never should have encouraged the district attorney to pursue any prosecution against Dilan,’” Jassy said. “Why wouldn’t they say that? They don’t even think that they have grounds for discipline, and they think that there could be a crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt?”

Dee Mostofi, a Stanford spokesperson, said in an email to KQED that the “student conduct review process” for Gohill was completed at the end of last year but did not address concerns from Gohill’s representatives about whether the university would retract its statements about prosecution.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the district attorney’s office had not filed charges against Gohill. Sean Webby, communications director for the office, said it is still waiting on all the information from the case before making a decision.

Many of the groups supporting Gohill have emphasized that on the day of the protests, he was dressed in red Stanford Daily attire and displayed a press badge. The protesters were dressed in black. His attorneys said Gohill did not participate in the protest in any way and that he identified himself as a journalist to officers.

“It’s shameful that a university seemingly committed to the ideals of free expression and a free press cannot be bothered to come to the aid of its own student-facing potential felony charges for the act of reporting the news,” said Mike Hiestand, the senior legal counsel for the Student Press Law Center.

Gohill still works at The Stanford Daily but no longer as a reporter. He serves as the newsroom development director, Szabo said. Stanford employs Gohill as a tour guide for prospective students of the university, as well.

“While he is still suffering from the threat of potential criminal charges today, this news, I think, has lifted a great burden off of his shoulders,” Szabo said. “He feels vindicated. The university made allegations, which they themselves decided not to pursue.

“We’re at this point shifting our focus to the district attorney’s office to make sure that they don’t fall into a similar trap and pursue charges that are simply without any merit.”

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