Today the First Amendment Coalition and the Student Press Law Center, along with 24 other organizations dedicated to free speech and freedom of the press, called on the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office to decline charges against a student journalist who was arrested while covering a demonstration at Stanford University.
Dilan Gohill, a first-year Stanford student and reporter who covers campus activism for The Stanford Daily, was booked along with a dozen protesters on charges of felony burglary, vandalism, and conspiracy, after police responded to a protest and occupation of the Stanford president’s office.
In a letter sent today to Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, the organizations write: “[W]e urge your office to avoid expending significant resources prosecuting a young journalist who was acting in good faith to serve the public’s interest in timely coverage of newsworthy events.”