Pro-Palestine protester Jazmine Frazier was arraigned on one count of resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and one count of loitering, a violation, in Amherst Town Court last Wednesday, according to the Erie County District Attorney’s office.
Due to her alleged conduct during the May 1 pro-Palestine rally, 33-year-old Frazier is the only protester to be charged with a criminal offense. According to UB, 14 other protestors are facing non-criminal violation-level charges, such as loitering, trespassing and disorderly conduct. Seven are UB students who will not face on-campus disciplinary action.
Frazier is alleged to have attempted to break the plastic handcuffs placed on her and laid on the ground to prevent police officers from bringing her to a patrol vehicle.
She was released on her own recognizance and is scheduled to return on July 3 for a pre-trial conference. If convicted of the highest charge, she can face up to one year in prison.
Her arraignment comes a month after about 85 pro-Palestine demonstrators attempted an encampment in front of Hochstetter Hall to call on the UB Foundation to divest from companies tied to Israel. When the protesters refused to disperse at 8:22 p.m., police forcefully arrested 15 protesters. One officer allegedly ripped a hijab off of one demonstrator.
The 14 other protesters are expected to appear at Amherst Town Court on Tuesday.
Alisha Allison was an assistant news editor and can be reached at alisha.allison@ubspectrum.com
Mylien Lai is the senior news editor and can be reached at mylien.lai@ubspectrum.com
Mylien Lai is the senior news editor at The Spectrum. Outside of getting lost in Buffalo, she enjoys practicing the piano and being a bean plant mom. She can be found at @my_my_my_myliennnn on Instagram.
