ATHENS, OH (WCMH) — Ohio University Police Chief Andrew Powers says he is asking to drop charges against 70 people arrested at Ohio University’s Baker Center on Feb. 1 during a protest.

The group was asking the university to become a sanctuary campus. Powers said he ordered officers to arrest the people “for refusing to leave the rotunda of Baker Center following repeated attempts to relocate them and numerous warnings to leave.”

The Athens County Municipal Court judge found the first defendant not guilty of criminal trespass.

“Although I still believe the February 1 gathering had become unsafe and that our response was appropriate, I respect the decision of the Judge,” Powers said in a statement. “Out of fairness to the other similarly situated defendants, I have asked the Athens City Prosecutor’s office to dismiss the remaining charges related to the February 1 demonstration. The final decision to do so rests with the Prosecutor’s office.”