ANN ARBOR, MI – Formal trespassing charges have been filed months after several people were arrested during a sit-in protest in the University of Michigan administration building during a global “Climate Strike” demonstration.

Trespassing charges were requested for 10 of the protesters arrested during the March 15 event, University of Michigan Department of Public Safety Deputy Chief Melissa Overton said.

Charges on two of the arrested protesters, who were juveniles, were denied, Overton said.

The names of those charged are not being released at this time as they have not been arraigned.

“I’m honestly surprised and disappointed anyone was even arrested that day,” Angie Martell, an Ann Arbor attorney representing the accused, said. “It was a symbolic and important day for the planet, and everyone was acting in a civil, non-violent way.”

The March 15 Climate Strike was part of a youth-led global movement that consisted of school walkouts and rallies calling for more action to address climate change.

Hundreds of Washtenaw County middle school and high school students joined UM students for the rally on the Diag at noon with event organizers Washtenaw County Climate Strike. They then marched around downtown before staging the sit-in at the Fleming Administration Building.

The protesters wanted to set a date for a public Q&A with UM President Mark Schlissel to talk about what the university is doing to address climate change. The sit-in protest was a last resort after attempting to get action from UM administration, protest organizers said.

“Arresting people who are pushing for climate justice at the same time that our university is directly invested in fossil fuels and only has taken preliminary measures towards carbon neutrality seems to be counter to their mission of advocating for their students and the surrounding community,” Washtenaw County Climate Strike co-organizer Hoai An Pham said.

The protesters were asked to leave when the administration building closed at 5 p.m., were given additional time in the building and were asked to leave again at 8 p.m. before officers began making arrests, Overton said.

Most of the protesters dispersed before the 8 p.m. deadline, Overton said.

“I’m hoping to have the charges dismissed next month because Ann Arbor is a bastion of free speech and freedom of expression is important here,” Martell said. “Charging someone for expressing their right to protest sends a bad message to the hundreds of children who were also at the event.”

The group is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m., June 17, at the 15th District Court in downtown Ann Arbor.

Trespassing is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and or a fine of $250.