COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two women who were charged in the vandalism of the Ohio State Hillel Jewish Student Center last year have accepted a plea agreement.
The two women pleaded guilty to criminal trespass, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The women were also charged with ethnic intimidation, theft and criminal mischief, but the charges were dismissed.
In November 2023, police said the two women walked into the student center and wanted to look around the building.
One of the women stood by the front door while the other woman allegedly went into a room and started taking small Israeli flags. When staff confronted the woman, she ran out the door cursing at them, "You support genocide", and "Free Palestine" while running to a waiting car, police said. A man in the car drove them away.
According to Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein’s office, Hillel officials requested a restorative justice plan for the women involved in the incident.
As part of the plea deal, the suspects participated in hourslong listening and learning sessions with Jewish student Hilley, attended a dinner with a local rabbi and enrolled in a workshop at the Hillel student center.
“Hate has no home in Columbus, and as City Attorney, I take bias-fueled crimes very seriously. In every one of these types of cases, I instruct prosecutors to listen to victims in order to pursue the most appropriate outcome,” said Klein. “In this case, Hillel pushed for a response that balanced accountability with opportunities for restorative justice, and working with Hillel officials and defense counsel, we created a rigorous plan that met these demands. I will continue to stand with our Jewish friends and neighbors and all who have increasingly become targets for violence and hate-fueled rhetoric.”