UCI Protestors Charged For 'Failure To Disperse,' DA Says

IRVINE, CA — Ten protestors were charged Wednesday for failing to disperse during a pro-Palestine rally at the University of California, Irvine on May 15, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.

According to Spitzer, the defendants refused to leave after UCI police deemed the protest to be an unlawful assembly.

The first 10 protestors charged as a part of the ongoing investigation are:

• Michael Chang, 29, of Irvine.
  • Charged with one misdemeanor count of failure to disperse at scene of riot.
• Jonathan Brook Haley, 51, of Oceanside.
  • Charged with failure to disperse at scene of riot.*
• Fantana Zadran, 39, of Irvine.
  • Charged with one misdemeanor count of failure to disperse at scene of riot.
• Rami Anabtawi, 40, of Silverado.
  • Charged with one misdemeanor count of failing to disperse at scene of riot.
• Miriam Castro, 27, of Irvine.
  • Charged with one misdemeanor count of failing to disperse at scene of riot.
• Kevyn Garcia, 24, of Upland.
  • Charged with one misdemeanor count of failing to disperse at scene of riot.
• Adel Shaker Hijazi, 40, of Irvine.
  • Charged with one misdemeanor count of failing to disperse at scene of riot.
• Angie Belen Monreal, 27, of Garden Grove.
  • Charged with one misdemeanor count of failing to disperse at scene of riot and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.
• Marah Quaran, 20, of Irvine.
  • Charged with one misdemeanor count of failing to disperse at scene of riot.
• Tiffany Willoughby Herard, 50 of Irvine: Charged with one misdemeanor count of failure to disperse at scene of riot, one misdemeanor count of resisting a peace officer with the threat of violence, and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

Of the mentioned defendants, four of them are UCI students and two are UCI professors.

The defendants were due to appear at the Central Justice Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16 to be arraigned.

"The right to peaceful assembly is a constitutional right and we encourage protestors to exercise their right to peaceful assembly on any issue," Spitzer said in a statement. "However, criminal activity which transcends peaceful assembly will not be tolerated. As such, the OCDA's Special Prosecutions Unit has spent months reviewing evidence to determine what, if any, crimes were committed by protestors at UCI following the lawful dispersal order issued by UCI police."

Spitzer's office will continue to review evidence against the remaining 40 arrestees, he said.

No further information was immediately available.

* Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this article misstated the charges against Jonathan Brook Haley. Haley has been charged with one misdemeanor count of failure to disperse at scene of riot.