3 men accused of not dispersing during pro-Palestinian protest at UC Irvine say the law was on their side

Nathaniel Percy, The Orange County Register on Mar 30, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Three men who were on the University of California, Irvine campus during a pro-Palestinian protest nearly two years ago and ordered to disperse by law enforcement remained for hours, a prosecutor told jurors at the opening of their trial Monday.

Defense attorneys representing the men, while asking the jury to find their clients not guilty, said the protest showed no signs of becoming violent and that law enforcement had no right to end the demonstrations.

Adel Shaker Hijazi, 42, Malik Alrefai, 25, and Jacob Andrew Hernandez, 33, are each charged with a misdemeanor count of refusing to disperse from the protest on May 15, 2024. Hernandez was working as a freelance journalist taking photos and video of the protest, his attorney Madeline Hart told the jury, adding that members of the press cannot be charged with failing to disperse.

“The only weapon he had was a camera,” Hart said, later telling the jury that Hernandez was “grabbed by police, tackled by police and beaten.”

The three men were among 49 people arrested after law enforcement declared an unlawful assembly and worked to clear the quad on campus starting just after 3 p.m. Many of those charged with refusing to disperse agreed to partake in deferment programs to avoid jail time.

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Bradbury told the jury that despite the first dispersal order going out just past 3 p.m., Alrefai was still on scene at 6 p.m., Hernandez was still there at 7 p.m. and Hijazi remained past 7:20 p.m.

Defense attorneys said it was law enforcement that escalated the protest to the point where violence was a concern.

“This case rests on our First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly,” said Melody Haddad of the Alternate Public Defender’s Office who represents Hijazi. “They’re not a threat to public safety. It was not an unlawful assembly. They’re acting within their First Amendment rights.”

James Henshaw of the Alternate Defender’s Office, representing Alrefai, said officers “made assumptions and a rush to judgment” when it came to what the protesters were doing in front of the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall.

“In this country, law enforcement doesn’t get to decide how long someone can express their First Amendment rights,” Henshaw said, adding that a law enforcement official on scene that day knew there weren’t any classes in the lecture hall.

All three attorneys said their clients were simply at a peaceful, nonviolent protest.

Christopher Bolano, a former UCI Police Department sergeant who has since retired, testified that he was aware of the encampment and protest starting on April 29, 2024, and said the size of the group would fluctuate between 20 and 200 people. At times, the group would chant and march around with signs, he said.

In a Microsoft Teams chat with other law enforcement officials, Bolano said he was shown a social media post indicating a rally would take place on May 15. He arrived at the quad about 2:15 p.m. and saw an estimated 120 people.

Shortly thereafter, the group moved from its spot in the middle of the quad to an area in front of the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall, he said. Just after 2:30 p.m., the group began forming a barrier around part of the building with wood pallets and plastic barricades, which concerned Bolano because it could block people inside the building from getting out of the area in an emergency.

At one point in a video, Bolano attempts to wrestle a wood pallet away from a protester and tells the protester that they cannot block the entryway.

“I felt the resolve of the demonstrators — that they were going to do whatever they could to ... obstruct law-enforcement officers and access to the building,” he said, adding that he was concerned the scene could lead to violence.

After 3 p.m., another video was played in which Bolano was on top of a nearby building reading the dispersal order through a loudspeaker. He testified that he read it twice. The department called for backup from other Orange County agencies and eventually formed a skirmish line in an attempt to clear the area.

Officers did not initially make arrests, he said.

_____