A pro-Trump College Republicans president is dropping charges against a Stanford University student who he claimed physically assaulted him at an event supporting Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
John David Rice-Cameron, the son of Obama-era national security adviser Susan Rice, claimed that sophomore Melinda Hernandez physically assaulted him at a “Change My Mind” event on Sept. 9. Hernandez was placed on a private person arrest and given a battery citation. (RELATED: Susan Rice’s Son Presses ‘Full Charges’ Against Stanford Student Who Allegedly Assaulted Him At Pro-Kavanaugh Event)
Rice-Cameron, however, decided to drop charges against Hernandez for civility purposes, according to a Stanford College Republicans (SCR) Facebook post on Monday.
“Although it is entirely within the legal rights of our president to press charges, he has decided to drop the charges in an expression of goodwill and in the hope that doing so will help diffuse tension on campus,” the post said.
The post also asked Hernandez to apologize to Rice-Cameron.
SCR hosted the tabling event where an emotionally or politically charged statement is given and those who disagree must try to change the mind of the host through dialogue.
The event came after Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault by three women, was confirmed by the Senate in a 50-48 vote on Oct. 6.
SCR said in an Oct. 10 Facebook post that members had to listen to insults for hours and had paint thrown at them.
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Hernandez said the encounter occurred because Rice-Cameron refused to stop recording her, but has denied pushing him forcefully, The Stanford Daily reported.
All parties must provide consent to be recorded under California law, according to the Digital Media Law Project.
Stanford officials Susie Brubaker-Cole and Lauren Schoenthaler wrote in a blog post they heard concerns about the “impact of campus speech on survivors of sexual violence” and the “dismissal of certain political viewpoints” following the event.
“We have the option to listen to those with whom we disagree, to ask questions, to present our own ideas,” the blog post said. “We have the option to create a separate event or space to articulate our perspective or to initiate a different dialogue.”
Stanford and Rice-Cameron did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Hernandez said she would not be providing comments for a previous TheDCNF article and was contacted again for an article on this topic.
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