Judge: Vanderbilt student protester who violently took over a building can be prosecuted
Anti-Israel protesters assault a security guard (grey jacket)
at Vanderbuilt. Click for full video.
The lawless left: A judge ruled this week that Vanderbilt student protester Jack Petocz, who was one of three who violently attacked and injured a security guard in the process of taking over a building on March 25, 2024, was not exercising his first amendment rights and can be prosecuted for assault and face an almost yearlong prison sentence.
Judge Lynda Jones ruled during a preliminary hearing on Thursday that there was probable cause, and told Petocz he’s facing a possible jail sentence of up to 11 months and 29 days for the assault charge. Jones said Petocz may face more time if state prosecutors charge him with aggravated criminal trespass, a Class E felony.
It appears that Petocz was arguing that he was merely exercising his first amendment rights in breaking into the building and occupying it.
Petocz told the judge that “These events did not occur in a vacuum. … There have been many sit-ins at Kirkland (Hall) in the past … I never intended to harm anyone or cause anyone to feel unsafe. Again, I have a lot of experience organizing, and I would never conduct myself in that matter,” he said. “I did not push past the security guard, nor do I think I pushed past Dr. Turton.”
Video of the incident (available if you click on the screen capture to the right) however clearly shows at least two students pushing past the security guard when he tried to prevent their illegal entrance. Though the faces are blurred, it is likely the evidence of this video that prompted Vanderbilt to expel and charge Petocz and two other students.
The good news here is that the university is not backing down, as has become routine for these academic institutions when faced with violent student mob actions. Instead, it quickly expelled the students who led the building takeover and charged them with assault and trespass, and is now proceeding aggressively with that prosecution. The hearings for the other two students, Devron Burks and Samuel Shulman, are presently scheduled for late November.
Petocz apparently thought that by leading this violent building takeover it would give him the right publicity to become a leading member of the next generation of Democratic Party movers and shakers. He certainly was moving in the right circles, having already met with President Joe Biden in 2023, and then proudly showing off pictures of him with Senator Charles Schumer and Vice President Kamala Harris at about that same time.
He might still become a big mover and shaker in the Democratic Party, even if he is found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison. Democrats love “protest martyrs” like this, especially because the party uses such violence as its armed wing. Once Petocz gets out of prison expect him to wave his prison sentence like a badge of honor. We should then not be surprised if he is embraced by the Democrats and promoted to a major position of influence, where he can then make believe he opposes such violence even as he works to promote it behind the scenes.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Anti-Israel protesters assault a security guard (grey jacket)
at Vanderbuilt. Click for full video.
The lawless left: A judge ruled this week that Vanderbilt student protester Jack Petocz, who was one of three who violently attacked and injured a security guard in the process of taking over a building on March 25, 2024, was not exercising his first amendment rights and can be prosecuted for assault and face an almost yearlong prison sentence.
Judge Lynda Jones ruled during a preliminary hearing on Thursday that there was probable cause, and told Petocz he’s facing a possible jail sentence of up to 11 months and 29 days for the assault charge. Jones said Petocz may face more time if state prosecutors charge him with aggravated criminal trespass, a Class E felony.
It appears that Petocz was arguing that he was merely exercising his first amendment rights in breaking into the building and occupying it.
Petocz told the judge that “These events did not occur in a vacuum. … There have been many sit-ins at Kirkland (Hall) in the past … I never intended to harm anyone or cause anyone to feel unsafe. Again, I have a lot of experience organizing, and I would never conduct myself in that matter,” he said. “I did not push past the security guard, nor do I think I pushed past Dr. Turton.”
Video of the incident (available if you click on the screen capture to the right) however clearly shows at least two students pushing past the security guard when he tried to prevent their illegal entrance. Though the faces are blurred, it is likely the evidence of this video that prompted Vanderbilt to expel and charge Petocz and two other students.
The good news here is that the university is not backing down, as has become routine for these academic institutions when faced with violent student mob actions. Instead, it quickly expelled the students who led the building takeover and charged them with assault and trespass, and is now proceeding aggressively with that prosecution. The hearings for the other two students, Devron Burks and Samuel Shulman, are presently scheduled for late November.
Petocz apparently thought that by leading this violent building takeover it would give him the right publicity to become a leading member of the next generation of Democratic Party movers and shakers. He certainly was moving in the right circles, having already met with President Joe Biden in 2023, and then proudly showing off pictures of him with Senator Charles Schumer and Vice President Kamala Harris at about that same time.
He might still become a big mover and shaker in the Democratic Party, even if he is found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison. Democrats love “protest martyrs” like this, especially because the party uses such violence as its armed wing. Once Petocz gets out of prison expect him to wave his prison sentence like a badge of honor. We should then not be surprised if he is embraced by the Democrats and promoted to a major position of influence, where he can then make believe he opposes such violence even as he works to promote it behind the scenes.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
He’d better hope the Democrats hire him; tough to get a job with a felony conviction.
Security is thankless work–low pay, fights-baby mama drama.
Blair: My understanding is that, under the common law, if a crime can be punished with a year or more in jail, it is a felony; otherwise, it is a misdemeanor. Thus, the assault charge with a max penalty of just under a year would not be a felony. Let’s hope he draws the aggravated criminal trespass.
DL Jessup: It’s not so much the sentence length, but the charge. There is a distinction between misdemeanor and felony assault; usually dependent on injury. If you need an ER doc, it’s probably a felony. Assault on a law enforcement officer is an automatic felony in most jurisdictions; not sure how the courts have handled security personnel. I would venture that given the rapidly shifting political winds, the DA may be more confident of a felony charge.