What were the arrested UCSD pro-Palestinian protesters accused of?

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department released the names of protesters arrested and the charges filed against them after police descended on UC San Diego on Monday to clear encampments.

According to the university, 64 people were arrested, including 40 students. According to jail records obtained by CBS 8, they face a short list of misdemeanor charges.

Sixty protesters face charges of unlawful assembly; 39 were arrested on charges of trespassing on public lands; 34 were detained for resisting charges; 17 for violating UC San Diego’s curfew; and four for camping on university campuses.

The sheriff’s department said the students were released from the downtown jail and released. For some people it is a combination of three or four crimes.

“The charges so far have only been misdemeanors. And I see the city attorney potentially even reducing a lot of them to violations,” said local attorney Brian Watkins. He expects a lot of negotiations.

“Often they reduce these (violations) to what we call nuisance violations, a PC 415,” Watkins said.

“An infraction is similar to a speeding ticket. It won’t go on your criminal record. You face a fine. There is no threat of prison time,” Watkins said. “Even if they are convicted of a misdemeanor, they can have an expungement. And this is a process where you expunge the case from your record and get the charges dismissed.”

UC San Diego announced Monday that the arrested students will automatically face interim suspension. About 200 UC San Diego faculty members have now signed an open letter calling for the suspensions to be lifted.

UC San Diego did not respond to a request for comment on the open letter.

“Being suspended from school. Yes, this remains on your academic transcript. Of course, many of these kids are in college, and that can impact them when they go to graduate school. But for children who don’t graduate from college, employers obviously won’t look at their college transcripts. So I don’t think a suspension will impact employment,” Watkins said.

Many of the students arrested are lower income, so they are likely to qualify for public defender positions, meaning taxpayers pay for their legal defense.

The San Diego City Attorney’s Office told CBS 8 via email that arraignment dates for the defendants are still unknown.

CONNECTION WITH THE WATCH: Tensions rise on the UC San Diego campus as police and students clash following encampment evacuation and arrests