Felony Charges and Warrants in Process, U.S. Attorney Reviewing a Case
By Dolores Quintana
On Friday, the President of the Undergraduate Student’s Council Association at UCLA, Adam Tfayli, issued a transparency report regarding charges that have been filed against four of the vigilantes who attacked the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on April 30 and May 1 of this year, co-signed by the council’s internal and external vice presidents, Josh Garland and Javier Nunez-Verdugo.
After six months, per the report, two individuals have been arrested on felony charges and their primary hearings have been set. Two other individuals have arrest warrants that are being processed through the District Attorney’s office. Of the two, one arrest warrant is for a felony count and the second, which was originally a felony warrant, has been lowered to a misdemeanor charge.
In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s office is reviewing a case related to the attack. No information has yet been released about the case, namely who is involved and what charges might come from the case. It is of note that hate crime cases are usually handled at the state and federal level.
The statement notes that “Throughout this process, we have been meeting consistently with key members of the administration, including Rick Braziel, Associate Vice Chancellor of Campus Safety; Mick De Luca, Associate Vice Chancellor of Campus Life; and Suzanne Seplow, Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Development and Health.”
Journalist Eric Leval found that two of the attackers who were charged are Eyal Shalom and Malachi Joshua Marlan-Librett.
Shalom was charged on August 2. Through a search of public records, we discovered that Shalom is accused of PC22810(g)(1)-F Illegal Use of Tear Gas-Tear Gas Weapon. No other information, including date of arrest, is available.
Marlan-Librett was charged on August 5 and charged with four counts, two on April 28, PC242-M Battery, PC245(a)(1)-F Assault With Deadly Weapon: Not Firearm. On May 1, he is charged with PC422.75(a) SPEC, ALLEG: Hate Crime, an additional charge when someone commits a hate crime while committing a felony, and PC12022(b)(1) SPEC ALLEG, Use of a Deadly Weapon in the commission of a felony. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on November 22, 2024. Marlan-Librett is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz, according to The Daily Bruin, and not a student of UCLA as many of the attackers were.
Until this update, the only person who had been charged in the attacks was Edan On, the 18-year-old graduate of Beverly Hills High. Shortly after On’s arrest, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón chose to lessen the severity of the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, and the charge was referred to City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto, who has not yet published a decision on whether or not her office intends to prosecute On.
