AFSC calls for dropping charges against Swarthmore 9

PHILADELPHIA (June 23, 2026) On July 1, nine activists arrested at a pro-Palestinian encampment at Swarthmore College will go to trial in Delaware County, PA. Students set up the encampment in April 2025 to pressure the college to cut ties with Cisco Systems, a technology company profiting from Israel's genocide in Gaza. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) - a Quaker organization with historic ties to Swarthmore - is mobilizing supporters to attend the trial and calling for all charges to be dropped.

"We are inspired by the thousands of students and communities across the country who have taken action to end the genocide in Gaza and divest from the corporations profiting from war and violence," said Laura Boyce, AFSC's associate general secretary for U.S. programs. "No one should be criminalized for speaking out against injustice. That is why we are calling for all charges against the Swarthmore 9 to be immediately dropped."

The Swarthmore 9 were arrested on May 3, 2025 after the college administration called in dozens of police to raid the encampment and arrest those who remained there. The activists all face third-degree misdemeanor trespassing charges, which carry a maximum sentence of a year in prison. AFSC is organizing supporters to attend the trial to bear witness and offer solidarity to the defendants.

"Showing up in the courtroom is one small thing we can do to say 'we're with you,'" said Lewis Webb, director of U.S. peacebuilding for AFSC. "As an organization we are often behind the scenes, doing research on companies profiting from the genocide in Gaza, advocating for policy change at the local and federal level, and organizing communities to cut ties with Israeli apartheid. But we also know that we must vigorously defend the right to speak out, to protest, and to boycott or else the tools for nonviolent action will continue to be criminalized."

Participants in the Swarthmore encampment were demanding the school disclose and divest from any contracts with Cisco Systems. Cisco is a technology company whose hardware powers the Israeli military's central data center and enables Israel's genocide in Gaza. Between November 2023 and January 2024, the Israeli military spent over $2 million to purchase Cisco servers. Since November 2023 the Israeli military has killed over 73,000 people in Gaza, including more than 1000 since a "ceasefire" was declared.

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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.