CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A plea deal is on the table for the people arrested during pro-Palestinian protests on the University of North Carolina campus in late April.

Defendants appeared in court Tuesday morning, albeit for a short time.

Lily, a UNC senior who did not want to share her last name for fear of being doxed, said their coalition is not ready to accept any plea offers.

Heated rallies sparked unrest on campus as when police arrested some demonstrators last April. 

Before the defendants shuffled into the Chapel Hill Courthouse, they read an action statement calling for the university to divest from Israel and to boycott companies that work with the Israeli government.

Gina Balamucki, the attorney from the collective defense team representing the more than three dozen defendants, said everyone has been given a plea offer based on why they were arrested in the spring.

Balamucki said the options for plea deals range from a deferred prosecution agreement, which means they wouldn’t have to plead to anything and allows a prosecutor to establish a pre-trial written agreement, to a conditional discharge, which lets a defendant plead guilty to a charge with the possibility of having that charge dismissed pending the completion of criteria like community service.

The UNC administration has shared that campus policies leave room for peaceful protests but felt their actions against these defendants are justified based on how some were carried out. 

Balamucki said her clients are charged with misdemeanors.

The next court date is August 26 in Hillsborough when the accused can choose a plea or a future trial date.  

The attorney said her clients will collectively decide about the best legal path forward.

Balamucki said these defendants feel they engaged in a First Amendment exercise of their freedoms last April and shouldn’t be punished for it.