URBANA — The first trial for any individual facing charges after a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Illinois last year came to a close Thursday with a ruling that a Savoy 19-year-old is guilty of a misdemeanor, but not a felony.

Champaign County Judge Roger Webber dismissed mob action charges against Yafa Issa after the state rested its case, saying the "evidence falls woefully short" of demonstrating that she was involved in any kind of violent activity.

He did not dismiss her misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing a peace officer however and, after hearing closing arguments, ruled it was clear beyond a reasonable doubt that Issa attempted to block officers from accessing tents erected by protestors near the Alma Mater statue.

The trial which was originally scheduled to carry into Friday morning moved quickly as Webber had already heard a great deal of relevant evidence after Evan Bruno, Issa's lawyer, filed a motion to dismiss her charges on First Amendment grounds.

UI Police Captain Jason Bradley testified at the hearing on that motion as well as in Thursday's trial, explaining his involvement in attempts to help UI Facilities and Services employees remove tents from the grounds on April 26, 2024.

UIPD Detective Nina Broadnax also testified, saying she had been tasked with investigating incidents related to the protests that day.

Specifically, Broadnax said her assignment was to review body cam footage and other videos from the day "and find individuals that seemed that their actions were criminal."

Broadnax identified Issa through social media by recognizing a distinctive phone case she was holding in footage from April 26 as well as in her Instagram profile picture.

Assistant State’s Attorney Eileen Keeley argued that Issa’s actions contributed to disturbing the peace, the basis of the mob action charge, despite Bruno’s argument that the peace was already disturbed because police moved in through a circle of protestors while trying to make space for Facilities and Services.

Bruno’s argument was based on Bradley saying that the protest was entirely peaceful until police formed a wedge formation and approached, at which point they were blocked by a large sign held by demonstrators.

“Mr. Bruno tries to make it seem like there has to be an instant where, snap, the peace is disturbed, then anything that comes after that becomes completely excusable,” Keeley said.

Webber said that the existence of peace to be disturbed was ultimately irrelevant because the charge relied on proving Issa had disturbed the peace “by the use of force or violence,” which had not been demonstrated.

As for the charge of obstructing a police officer, the state needed to prove that Issa knew that Bradley was a peace officer and that she knowingly obstructed him in his official capacity.

Bradley and other UIPD officers on scene were wearing their uniforms and he had already spoken to Issa earlier in the day, telling her and others to move the tents they had erected due to university policy.

Keeley said a voice audible in social media videos of the incident calling for people to get in the tents so they could not be moved was Issa’s, though the masks many protestors wore made it more difficult to confirm.

Issa could also be seen holding onto the large sign as officers and demonstrators pushed against it and locking arms with other demonstrators, presumably to block access to the tents.

Issa will return to court for any post-trial motions and a potential sentencing hearing in July.

State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said that the ruling Judge Webber made matched the pleas already made by two other individuals who were charged in relation to the same incident, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and saw felony charges dismissed.

Rietz also said that the state currently plans to request the same sentence as the one included in the negotiated plea, which is the mandatory minimum sentence for the misdemeanor: 100 hours of public service and 12 months of conditional discharge.