Charges dropped against students accused of distributing fake Daily Northwestern page

CHICAGO — Cook County prosecutors on Wednesday dropped charges against two Northwestern students amid controversy over the decision to pursue a criminal case against them for allegedly circulating a fake page of the student newspaper to protest the school stance on the crisis in Gaza and Israel.

The charging decision, as well as the newspaper’s parent company’s pursuit of a complaint, attracted harsh criticism from students, professors and community members, who blasted the move as an example of over-policing of Black students and an effort to silence pro-Palestinian voices.