DA to Drop Case Against Anti-war Vets

MINEOLA, N.Y. - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is expected to seek the dismissal today of disorderly conduct charges against a group of Iraq war veterans and their supporters who were arrested outside the third presidential debate, at Hofstra University in October.

Prosecutors also agreed to ask a judge to join the court appearances of all 15 defendants, making it easier for the defendants and their supporters to voice their opinions as a group.

"The DA's office has acknowledged that they don't have a case against us and that it's in bad form to try and split us up," said Matthis Chiroux, 24, of Brooklyn, who helped organize the debate-night rally for the group Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Eric Phillips, a spokesman for Rice, said his office decided not to pursue the charges because the veterans intended to protest peacefully, and it would be a great expense to the taxpayers to prosecute all 15 cases, which he said are "noncriminal."

The cases will be dismissed on the condition that the defendants have no contact with the criminal justice system within the next six months, Phillips said.

The defendants were arrested after they tried to cross a police barricade, police have said. Mounted police pushed a group of about 200 protesters from various organizations away from the gates, inciting some demonstrators to push back. Nicholas Morgan, 24, an Iraq war veteran from Washington, D.C., was knocked unconscious and suffered a fractured cheekbone.

Police have said they are investigating that incident.