From Street Protests to Court Records
What event data show about pro-Palestinian mobilisation, how documented violence is attributed, and what happened when prosecutors dropped the Hamilton Hall trespass charges.
Where demonstrations were recorded
ACLED recorded pro-Palestinian demonstrations in all 50 US states and Washington, DC during the period it examined after October 2023. Its international release listed Yemen and the United States at the top of the event count. Rallies, marches and sit-ins contribute to this measure, as do demonstrations that escalate. The figures measure events rather than crowd sizes or criminal cases. ACLED global analysis
Five countries with the highest event counts in ACLED’s published snapshot.
How often did demonstrations turn violent?
ACLED classified 98% of US campus demonstrations in its 7 October 2023–5 July 2024 window as peaceful. That figure applies to the campus subset. A countrywide trend requires consistent yearly counts for demonstrations and violent incidents, along with records identifying whether demonstrators, counter-demonstrators or police used force.
Princeton’s Bridging Divides Initiative examined assaults, clashes, substantial damage and police use of force in its study of campus encampments. These categories can describe different participants in the same incident. In Amsterdam, for example, police recorded fireworks thrown at officers near the stadium and subsequent attacks on visiting football supporters at multiple locations. Princeton issue brief · Amsterdam case records
Why the Hamilton Hall charges were dismissed
Police cleared Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall on 30 April 2024 after the university requested their intervention. People arrested in the occupation faced misdemeanor trespass charges. In June 2024 the court dismissed those charges on the Manhattan District Attorney’s motion. A New York decision published in 2026 records two reasons given by the office: limited evidence about individuals’ conduct and the expectation of university disciplinary proceedings for people affiliated with Columbia.
The criminal records were sealed upon dismissal. Columbia later brought disciplinary charges against 22 current or former students. The court discussed the evidence available to the university and recounted separate allegations by two janitors. Those allegations and the dismissed trespass counts involved different proceedings. The reasons published in the decision provide a factual basis for tracking this closure. New York court decision
What the 2026 updates measure
London’s October briefing gives cumulative policing costs since 2023. Toronto’s update compares reported hate crime with the corresponding period in 2025 and contains conflicting published percentages. Each series has a different denominator. The available figures leave the international direction of protest-related violence unresolved. London policing costs · Toronto reports