‘Swarthmore 9′ protestors plead no contest to noise violation for pro-Palestinian encampment
Members of the group entered the plea a day before their trial on trespassing charges was set to begin.
Nine protestors who were charged with trespassing for refusing to leave a pro-Palestinian encampment at Swarthmore College last year have entered no-contest pleas to summary noise-violation offenses, ending a contentious legal case that had spanned more than a year.
The so-called “Swarthmore 9″ entered the pleas late Monday, the day before their trial was expected to begin before Delaware County Court Judge Dominic Pileggi.
As part of the plea negotiation, all nine members agreed to perform eight hours of community service and pay court costs.
The group had been charged with misdemeanor trespassing, and had refused to accept an earlier, similar plea offer made by District Attorney Tanner Rouse that would have had the same outcome. Doing so, they said, could chill future student protests.
It was not immediately clear what made them change their minds. The group’s lawyer, Marni Snyder, said it would be issuing a statement later Tuesday.
The group was arrested and briefly detained outside the college’s Trotter Hall in May 2025 when officers from surrounding police departments dismantled their encampment protesting the war in Gaza and Swarthmore’s IT contract with Cisco, a company that does business with the Israeli government.
Of the nine people arrested, only one, Jace Boland, is a student at the college. Another, Brendan Cook, is a former student who was suspended for participating in an earlier protest in 2024.
The others — Jonathan Britt, Mara Helen Cahill, Daria C. Dressler, Thomas Falcone, Colin Buckley Malcarney, Riley J. McManus, and Andrew Thomas — are not affiliated with Swarthmore.
Last week, Pileggi denied a motion to dismiss the charges against them, ruling that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Swarthmore issued multiple orders to protestors last spring to leave the campus, citing concerns over vandalism and public safety: Many of the protestors wore masks, refused to identify themselves, and were not affiliated with the school, according to administrators at the college.
Prosecutors noted that other protestors at the encampment avoided arrest by following an order to leave the area and were allowed to continue chanting and holding protest signs elsewhere on the campus.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
