New Orleans, LA – Protesters gathered twice at New Orleans Municipal Court during the week of November 18, as six activists who were arrested during the student-led Popular University for Gaza encampment attended their first days of trial.

They all face misdemeanor charges, ranging from trespassing to battery on an officer. The activists were all arrested by Tulane University Police Department in the first hours of the Encampment, which was held for two nights in April and May this year.

Supporters of the defendants held a “phone zap” on Monday to flood the phone lines of the city attorney’s office. They demanded that the city attorney drop all of the trumped-up charges caused by Tulane Police Department arrests. The phone zap was announced the week before the trials and it was organized on a Google spreadsheet, where supporters could sign up for a time slot that would ensure that calls were being made every 15 minutes, throughout the entire day.

On Tuesday, November 19, ten supporters joined Quest Riggs and Sruly Heller in court at 8 a.m. After their trial appearance, the defendants rallied with those who came out.

“We are standing here today and every day for Palestinian liberation. In these times we cannot let our fear stop us. Being on trial, this is just another Tuesday in Trump and Biden’s America,” Riggs said.

“This is a part of the long march for Justice. We are in it,” Heller added.

On Thursday, November 21, over three dozen supporters joined Serena Soljic-Borne and Brenna Byrne in court for their first trial day at 1 p.m. The defendants and their supporters rallied outside of court for an hour before the trial.

“The city attorney knows you’re here,” said Sojic-Borne, addressing the crowd. “The judge knows you’re here, Tulane knows you’re here, and the Port of New Orleans knows you’re here. The only reason they’re repressing us is because we’ve got them on the backfoot,” she said.

New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP) hosted the second rally, in recognition that Sojic-Borne’s trial corresponded with the one-year anniversary of NOSHIP members beginning their pressure campaign on the Port of New Orleans. The city’s port is a major U.S. trade route that carries weapons and military technologies from New Orleans to Israel, fueling its genocidal campaign against Palestinians. Throughout the past year NOSHIP has mobilized the community on a monthly basis to attend the meeting of the Port’s board of commissioners and use the public comment as an opportunity to demand New Orleans cut ties with Israel.

At both trial days, Tulane police failed to present arresting officers to speak as witnesses, leaving the prosecutor with no usable evidence in the cases. Two separate judges granted the prosecution continuances, in spite of objections from the defense. This further draws out the cases and increases the amount of time taken off from work for the defendants.

These trials came exactly two months after 14 other encampment arrestees were found not guilty by a judge in New Orleans Criminal Court for similar charges. That verdict marked the conclusion of the first encampment-related trial in the country. In total, nearly 30 students and activists were arrested at Tulane during the encampment, with several more having been arrested during other pro-Palestinian activism on campus.

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