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Mistrial Declared in Stanford Protest Case After Jury Deadlocks

The deadlock leaves the charges unresolved, with prosecutors moving to retry the case.

Overview

  • Santa Clara County Judge Hanley Chew declared a mistrial after jurors said further deliberation would not lead to a verdict.
  • The panel split 9–3 on felony conspiracy to trespass and 8–4 on felony vandalism before the case was halted.
  • District Attorney Jeff Rosen said his office will retry the case, with a court session set for Feb. 25 to address next steps.
  • Five defendants — German Gonzalez, Maya Burke, Taylor McCann, Amy Jing Zhai and Hunter Taylor-Black — were tried over the June 5, 2024 occupation of the Stanford president’s office.
  • Prosecutors cited Signal messages as evidence of planning for an extended occupation, while the defense disputed intent and pointed to cleanup efforts; Stanford’s damage estimate narrowed from $700,000 to $300,000 attributed to the protesters.