Municipal Prosecutor Christopher Koutsouris dropped the trespass charge against David Piegaro ’25 after several hours of testimony by witnesses for Piegaro’s defense in court on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Piegaro still faces an assault charge for an altercation with Assistant Vice President for Public Safety Kenneth Strother on the steps of Whig Hall on Apr. 29 following the occupation of Clio Hall.
The second and final day of Piegaro’s trial was punctuated by a heated exchange between Koutsouris and Judge John McCarthy III ’69 over the testimony of the defense’s key witness, who went on to testify that she saw Strother holding Piegaro “horizontally like an open pair of scissors.”
A date for the verdict has not yet been announced.
While the previous day only featured prosecution witnesses, Tuesday only featured witnesses for the defense.
The first witness was Emily Paulin ’25. Her testimony focused on access to Whig Hall on Apr. 29, a point of contention on which the trespass charge depended. In 2023, she served as vice president of the Whig-Clio Society, which was supposed to have a “senior roast” that night in Whig Hall.
This event was eventually cancelled due to low turnout, according to Paulin. However, she told the court that several people had entered the building around and after 8 p.m., and at no point did any administrators inform her that the building was locked or that students should leave. The ‘Prince’ reported that Piegaro was arrested by 8:03 p.m.
Piegaro himself was the next witness. He explained that he had disagreed with certain aspects of the pro-Palestine protest at Clio Hall, and saw his role as a “citizen journalist” to document what he saw as newsworthy events.
“There was a significant element within the protest that could cross the line from the peaceful protest to material support for terrorism,” Piegaro said.
Although History professor Max Weiss had called him an “outside agitator” on the day of the arrest, Piegaro emphasized that he was not a counterprotestor. He described that he had tried to take pictures of the protest in various locations near Clio Hall, including from Edwards Hall and Whig Hall itself. Soon afterward, he saw Weiss, Strother, and Zia Mian, Co-Director of Princeton’s Program in Science and Global Security, talking together, although he only recognized Weiss.
At that point, Piegaro started taking a video and following the three men up the steps of Whig. What followed in the altercation at the top of the stairs was the main subject of dispute in Monday’s court hearing: whether Piegaro had accidentally tripped and fallen down the steps while attempting to get into the building, or whether Strother had pushed him down.
Piegaro explained in his testimony that Strother had lifted and thrown him down the stairs. He remembered his ribs feeling bruised and banging his head. Referencing the moment of his arrest after the fall, Piegaro stated, “I remember being puzzled. And I was thinking, how can I get arrested? I’m not doing anything.”
He expressed that some events of the day remain less clear than others, including why he ended the first video recorded on the steps of Whig.
Piegaro had four character witnesses: Abhishek Kumar, who knew Piegaro from his time in the army; William Nash ’25; Matthew Wilson ’24; and Emerson Tiwang ’25. They testified positively to Piegaro’s personality and emphasized that he had no history of aggression.
Wilson is a former columnist for the ‘Prince.’
The key witness of the trial was Sarah Kwartler GS. When called up to the stand, Koutsouris objected to her testimony, fearing it would cause prejudice due to what he called the “shocking” nature of the testimony. McCarthy overruled this objection, saying, “I’m speechless.”
Kwartler was the only defense witness who had seen the altercation. During cross examination, Kwartler shared that she first met Piegaro on the dating app Hinge in 2022. They met three times — twice for what she called “dates” on Nassau street and once for a conversation in the Economics building. After these, there were no significant interactions between the two.
Kwartler described that on Apr. 29, she had just left Dillon Gym and was near Clio when she saw Piegaro following Strother, Weiss, and Mian. She recognized Piegaro, and watched as the men walked up the stairs. She then said that she looked away towards Clio due to commotion, and that by the time she looked back, Strother was holding Piegaro.
Kwartler described Strother as holding Piegaro “horizontally like an open pair of scissors,” with one hand under one of Piegaro’s legs and the other hand under Piegaro’s torso. She then said that Strother, who was standing near the stairs, had dropped Piegaro, who then rolled down the steps. Kwartler continued that she had tried to take a video, but by the time her phone was out, she had only captured Piegaro on the ground.
Kwarlter also stated that in the evening, she had sent the video to a group chat, where eventually the video reached Piegaro. The messages in this chat were submitted to the court as evidence. Soon after the incident, she said she was asked for a statement by Rabbi Eitan Webb, the director of Princeton’s Chabad House. The statement, which she wrote the following day and which eventually was sent to Piegaro, led the defense to subpoena her to testify.
At the end of the trial, Koutsouris motioned to drop the second count of trespass, which McCarthy agreed with.
In closing statements, Piegaro’s lawyer, Gerald Krovatin, argued that Kwartler’s testimony was “conclusive,” and that Strother had initiated contact at the top of the steps. Koutsouris, meanwhile, claimed that Piegaro violated New Jersey’s assault statutes in allegedly attempting to push past Strother.
A date for a verdict by McCarthy has not yet been set.
Christopher Bao is a head News editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Princeton, N.J. and typically covers town politics and life.
Luke Grippo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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