Pro-Palestinian advocates call on Dallas County DA to drop charges against demonstrators

Pro-Palestinian advocates are calling on the Dallas County district attorney’s office to drop criminal charges against 23 demonstratorsarrested at a March protest in Garland.

At the steps of the Frank Crowley Courts Building on Wednesday morning, about 40 people, including members of the DFW Anti-War Committee and the Palestinian Youth Movement in Dallas, held a rally in support of the “Garland 23.” Organizers of the rally also held a news conference that included multiple people arrested during the Garland demonstration.

At about 9 a.m., demonstrators could be seen writing messages on the ground near the entrance of the court building.

“General Dynamics is the real criminal,” one of the messages read. “Drop the charges,” another stated.

On March 7, about 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators held a protest at the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems facility in Garland, and accused the plant of manufacturing parts for weapons used by the Israeli military to kill Palestinian civilians.

Demonstrators blocked the entrances to the facility with their cars, preventing employees from getting in or out. Following the protest, Garland police said 23 people were arrested. Their charges included criminal trespass and obstructing a roadway, according to police.

“This facility is responsible for creating bomb shells for some of the most heavily used and destructive bombs sold by our government to the Israeli occupation forces who are currently committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza,” PYM Dallas member Nidaa Lafi said during the news conference.

Lafi said the date of Wednesday’s rally — April 17 — coincided with Palestinian Prisoner’s Day, a day of remembrance for political prisoners whom Lafi, and others in her community, said are wrongfully imprisoned.

A United Nations human rights expert in March reported she found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

According to recent media reports, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been slain and over 76,000 wounded since Oct. 7, when a Hamas-led terrorist attack triggered a massive military response from Israel. About 1,200 people were killed and hundreds of others were taken hostage in the October attack.

The 23 who were arrested in Garland were scheduled to make their first court appearances Wednesday. One of the organizers of the rally told The Dallas Morning News the hearing had been rescheduled for May. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s office declined to comment when asked by email whether the court hearing had been rescheduled.

Frederick Chenault, who was also arrested at the protest near General Dynamics, said his wife and children are of Palestinian descent. He said he rejects the premise that his actions at the protest were criminal, and called on Creuzot to drop the charges against the 23 demonstrators.

“If these charges are seen through, they will in essence be criminalizing the act of protesting — something that we must rise against as a nation, following in the legacy of brave protesters who disrupted in order to bring about real change,” Chenault said.

Ebba Anayah, who identified herself as one of those arrested at the Garland protest, said she thinks the U.S. is complicit in the killing of Palestinian civilians. She called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for the U.S. to stop sending aid to Israel.

“We ask you today, who are the real criminals?” Anayah asked. “Those who make the bombs that kill families and children or those who try to stop them?”