HOUSTON, United States

Prosecutors in the state of California filed felony criminal charges Thursday against 12 pro-Palestinian protesters who took part in a demonstration at Stanford University last June that caused nearly $700,000 in damage, according to media reports.

The pro-Gaza demonstrators were arrested June 5 after barricading themselves inside the president's office while demanding the university remove pro-Israeli military support from its investment portfolio. Protesters vandalized and destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property at the campus administration building.

"Dissent is American. Vandalism is criminal," said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said at a news conference. "Speech is protected by the First Amendment. Vandalism is prosecuted under the penal code."

Prosecutors said the demonstrators are being charged with felony vandalism and conspiracy counts. All but one of the dozen protesters being charged are current or former Stanford students and graduates, and all are US citizens.

The demonstration took place amid larger pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Prosecutors said the protesters broke into the administration building and ransacked the interior by damaging furniture and door frames, breaking windows and splattering fake blood inside. They also spray-painted the outside of the building. During their arrests, police confiscated hammers, crowbars, chisels and an electric grinder, which protesters used to cause the damage.

"There is a bright line between making a point and committing a crime," said Rosen. "Unfortunately, these defendants crossed the line into criminality when they broke into those offices, barricaded themselves inside and started a calculated plan of destruction."

The protesters face jail time and orders to pay restitution, if convicted.