An Ohio State University student was charged with trespassing on Thursday after speaking at a press conference defending an international graduate student whose student visa was revoked by the federal government.
Jineen Musa, an Ohio State student and Students for Justice in Palestine organizer, was issued a summons by an Ohio State bike officer on the Oval just before 3 p.m. Thursday. Musa organized an event featuring international student Ahwar Sultan and his lawyer Jana Al-Akhras as speakers.
Sultan was one of 12 OSU students who have had their international student visas revoked by the federal government.
Sultan and Al-Akhras spoke into a microphone and speakers about Sultan's lawsuit against President Donald Trump and other officials in his administration.
Musa started speaking to the crowd, but was interrupted by an OSU police officer about halfway through. The officer said if Musa did not stop using a speaker to amplify her voice, he would issue a summons for trespassing.
"The use of amplified sound is a violation of our space standards. So if you don't stop using amplified sound, you will be issued a summons," the officer said.
Musa spoke back to the officer to clarify the threat of criminal charges and then briefly criticized the officer and the university.
"I will be issued a summons for trespassing if I continue using this mic over a press conference of a student that had his visa revoked. This is what this university stands for. Shameful," Musa said. "We'll just speak louder. That's fine."
Musa then complied and stopped using the microphone and gave the rest of her speech by speaking loudly to the assembled crowd of about 30 people along with news media.
The speeches lasted about 25 minutes total.
Sultan said he feared being detained and deported just for speaking at the event.
"I now fear abduction and subsequent deportation by ICE. It is true that I risk deportation even as I stand here in front of you, and partly because I stand here in front you. The risk is still there, even though my case is in court," Sultan said.
The officer said Musa's group was warned about using the speakers before the event. Using amplified noise devices is not permitted during certain hours under Ohio State's space use rules.
After the three speakers were finished, they took questions from the news media for about 10 minutes.
Musa told WOSU the officers moved in to issue summons to her, Al-Akhras and Sultan shortly after news media left the Oval. WOSU arrived as Musa was being handed a pink sheet of paper with the summons on it.
Ohio State Police declined to clarify their reasons for charging Musa with a crime.
Musa said the officers threatened Sultan and Al-Akhras with summons too, but said they may have been able to talk the officers down from that.
Al-Akhras told WOSU when she went back to her car after the event, her car was surrounded and she was prevented from leaving by multiple police officers. She said the officers told her she would be issued a summons for criminal trespassing at a later date before being allowed to leave.
She called the interaction "quite jarring" because she was already leaving the scene and she herself wasn't warned about the rules about loudspeakers before the event.
Al-Akhras said her client, Sultan, was also approached by police and warned about receiving a summons.
Musa said university faculty were present to talk OSU police down from issuing a summons to Sultan.
Sultan's student visa was revoked after being one of the dozens of people arrested about a year ago during protests against Israel's war against Hamas in Palestine.
The press conference was meant to push back against the federal government's move to remove Sultan's legal status in the U.S. to study at OSU.
Al-Akhras said D.C. federal Judge Tanya Chutkan told her a ruling on their request for a temporary restraining order in the case is "imminent." That would halt action against Sultan and stop his visa from being revoked.
OSU spokesman Christopher Booker confirmed the charge in a statement.
"University space standards include restrictions on amplified sound before 5:30 p.m. on weekdays. Additional restrictions are in place during times when students are taking exams," Booker said.
Booker said Musa will also be referred to the appropriate university office for review.
Booker confirmed to WOSU that "an attorney and a grad student" were briefly detained after the event about a violation of the amplified sound provisions of the university’s space standards. He said they will not be facing criminal charges.
