Nine other protesters accused of failing to disperse after an event on May 15 pro-Palestinian protest at UC Irvine was deemed illegal by police agreed Wednesday, Nov. 13, to enter an Orange County Superior Court diversion program that would result in the misdemeanor charges being dismissed.

Defendants – of 50 people charged in connection with the UCI protest — agreed to perform 30 hours of community service and pay $100 in restitution during appearances before Commissioner Randall S. Bethune in a Santa Ana courtroom.

Three other protesters in mid-October agreed to enter the same diversion program under identical conditions. Prosecutors did not object. Most, if not all, of the UCI protesters charged with failure to disperse—and who have no criminal record—will likely eventually take part in the diversion program rather than face a conviction or be placed in behind bars.

The 50 defendants charged in connection with the May 15 protest include two UCI professors, an assistant, 26 students and 21 others. Most face a single misdemeanor failure to disperse charge, though some have also been charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest. One person was charged with vandalism.