Only person arrested after Proud Boys protest at Penn State may get charges dismissed
The only person expected to be charged after a protest of a planned appearance on Penn State’s main campus by the founder of a far-right extremist group was accepted Wednesday into a pre-trial program that could allow him to have his record cleared.
Bram C. Woolley, 23, was placed by Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine into the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program for six months, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said.
The program is designed for people accused of non-violent crimes and those with a limited or no criminal record.
Successful completion of the program gives people an opportunity to have the charges dismissed. Those who don’t complete the program successfully may be prosecuted.
Defense lawyer Julian Allatt said he was “pleased with how the case wrapped up.”
Woolley, of Lehigh County, was arrested in October during an on-campus protest of a planned speech headlined by the founder of the Proud Boys. He was accused by university police of failing to disperse from a disorderly crowd.
At least four uniformed police officers asked him to move from the north side of the Thomas Building about 10 times before arresting him, police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
The area needed to be secured for “further officers to respond and begin [dispersing] the disorderly crowd,” police wrote. Woolley’s proximity to a state police horse also created a “safety concern,” police wrote.
Woolley was charged with misdemeanor counts of failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and defiant trespassing. He is the only known person to be charged in connection with the protest, which Penn State canceled at the eleventh hour citing a threat of escalating violence.
A number of Penn State students and faculty took exception to the charges lodged against him and that none of the Proud Boys supporters, including those who pepper-sprayed protesters, were arrested. Dozens of supporters rallied in December in front of Old Main.
No other charges are expected, Cantorna said. The Penn State police investigation is complete, spokeswoman Jacqueline Sheader wrote in an email last month.
Woolley was expected to avoid suspension or expulsion from the university. A Penn State spokesperson said the university cannot comment on specific conduct matters and their resolutions, but added no one was set to be suspended or expelled.
Woolley, university spokeswoman Lisa Powers wrote in an email last month, is not enrolled for the spring semester. He last attended the university during the fall semester.
This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 5:19 PM.