Stanford Journalist Can ‘Finally Breathe’ After Avoiding Charges for Reporting on Protest

Stanford student journalist Dilan Gohill has been plagued by anxiety and fear in the nine months since he was arrested while covering a pro-Palestinian protest on campus.

But after the Santa Clara County district attorney declined to pursue criminal charges on Thursday, Gohill said he felt like he could “finally breathe.”

“It was always in the back of my head,” said Gohill, 19. “If I’m getting dinner with my friends, is this the last dinner I’m going to have with them? Tomorrow, could I wake up and receive an email that I’m being expelled or that I have three felonies being leveled against me?”

Press freedom advocates have condemned Gohill’s arrest since it happened, saying that he was doing his job as a reporter.

In June, as pro-Palestinian student demonstrations roiled campuses across California and the U.S., Gohill followed protesters as they took over the university president’s office. Although Gohill identified himself as a journalist, police arrested him on suspicion of felony burglary, vandalism and conspiracy. Stanford University also initiated a disciplinary investigation but dropped the case in January.

At the time of Gohill’s arrest, Stanford officials said they “fully support having him be criminally prosecuted.” However, once the district attorney decided otherwise, the university said in a statement that it respected that decision.

“We have no evidence that this student did anything other than cover this event as a journalist,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement.

Now, Gohill is back reporting at his student newspaper, The Stanford Daily. Although he’s hesitant to pursue journalism on campus again, he said he will not let the arrest dissuade him. His lawyer, Nicholas Rowley, told him to treat the case as a “badge of honor.”

Gohill’s colleagues at the Daily are also grateful to have him back.

“Pursuing charges against Dilan is not only unfair but also threatens the mission of student journalism,” the newspaper’s executive editing team wrote in a letter published Thursday. “While we are grateful that the DA came to the same conclusion, we remain frustrated with this entire process’s lack of clarity and timeliness, both from the DA’s office and from the University.”

Rowley said he doesn’t blame the district attorney’s office for the drawn-out decision. Rather, he takes issue with Stanford’s conduct throughout the case.

“Stanford could’ve called them off a long, long time ago, and Stanford failed to do that,” he said. “That’s a big stain on Stanford, which is supposed to be an institution that stands up for freedom of speech and freedom of the press.”

Although Gohill will not face charges, press freedom advocates are worried that the case will have a chilling effect on other student journalists at Stanford and beyond.

David Loy, a legal director with the First Amendment Coalition, said that it’s often the case that “the process is the punishment.”

“Any time someone’s arrested, even if they’re not ultimately prosecuted, that is a chilling effect,” Loy said. “To have your own university calling for you to be prosecuted and potentially sent to jail is highly frightening and potentially intimidating.”

Gohill himself expressed concern that the university could retaliate against him in other ways, like denying study abroad opportunities or housing offers. He said he would always wonder if his prior reporting would influence decisions like that.

While his attorney said there is room to sue the university and its police department for wrongful arrest and imprisonment, Gohill isn’t interested in that path.

“The people that are behind this are sure darn lucky that they’re not [being sued] because there would be hell to pay,” Rowley said. “They’re lucky that Dilan is a good-hearted human being who does not want to pursue a case against them. He just wants to move on with his life.”