University of Arizona will charge 2 students over protest of Border Patrol event on campus

[mahatmakanejeeves]

DeepLakeHat Retweeted

From facts I can gather so far re this event at University of Arizona: 1) students were expressing themselves & not stopping the speakers from being heard (a crucial point); 2) this illustrates problem of legislative involvement (as I've been warning)

Link to tweet

University of Arizona will charge 2 students over protest of Border Patrol event on campus
Rachel Leingang, Arizona Republic Published 4:10 p.m. MT April 1, 2019 | Updated 6:38 p.m. MT April 1, 2019

Two students at the University of Arizona will be charged with misdemeanors after a video showing them protesting a Customs and Border Protection event on campus went viral, UA President Robert Robbins announced Friday. ... The potential charges stem from a Border Patrol presentation to a student club, the Criminal Justice Association, on campus on March 19.

Video of the incident showed two Border Patrol agents in a classroom giving a presentation, with people outside the door recording themand calling them "Murder Patrol," "murderers" and "an extension of the KKK." ... After the agents leave the classroom, a group followed them until they left campus, chanting "Murder Patrol," video footage on social media shows.

Conservative media and commentators shared the video on social media and blogs as an example of free speech issues on college campuses. ... In the letter sent to students posted online, Robbins said the protest represented a "dramatic departure from our expectations of respectful behavior and support for free speech on this campus."

UA police determined Friday that they "will be charging" two students involved in the incident with "interference with the peaceful conduct of an educational institution," which is a misdemeanor. A Class 1 misdemeanor could result in up to six months of jail time. ... Charges have not been filed yet, UA Police Chief Brian Seastone said in an email. The names of the two students have not been released.
....

[JayhawkSD]

1. Interference is not limited to prevention.

If the law is with respect to "interference" then the fact that they were "not stopping the speakers from being heard" might not be an adequate defense. Heckling would certainly count as interference.

That being said, given that they were outside the door of the classroom, the authorities seem to be really pushing the envelope.

I do not have much sympathy, however, for people who are applying labels such as "Murder Patrol," "murderers" and "an extension of the KKK" to men and women who are simply doing their jobs.

[msongs]

2. as we learned at nuremburg, following orders aka simply doing their jobs is no defense nt