RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Charges have been dismissed for at least nine of the 13 people arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest on Virginia Commonwealth University's campus in April where protesters and police in riot gear clashed. Authorities arrested 13 people, including six students, on VCU’s Monroe Park campus in late April after police said protesters refused to follow orders to leave campus and take down an encampment that students put up outside of the James Branch Cabell Library. The protest ended with police taking down the encampment, using pepper spray and riot shields in the process. Some demonstrators were seen throwing water bottles at times. All 13 people arrested were charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing, per a press release from the university. The six students also had to go through VCU’s student conduct process, the school said. Online court records show that at least nine of the 13 have had the misdemeanors dismissed, most coming after hearings on Friday but with three being dismissed on Sept. 27. In an email, Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Colette McEachin told 8News that people whose cases were dropped Friday had to complete 40 hours of community service and a "1-page paper on the First Amendment and the way to exercise those rights in a non-violent and peaceful manner." A VCU spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. Students protesting Israel’s war effort in Gaza and demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war created what they called a “liberation zone” outside the library on April 29. The pro-Palestinian protesters, who demanded that VCU disclose and end all financial ties with Israel, eventually set up structures in the zone, which VCU said violated school policy. These primarily included wooden pallets, but tents were also put up. VCU said that university staff and police “respectfully and repeatedly” asked the demonstrators in the zone to follow school policies throughout the day on April 29. Authorities that responded — a group that included Virginia state police, Richmond police and VCU police — were equipped with riot gear, including helmets, gas masks and shields, to disperse the protest. VCU said police issued four mass warnings to demonstrators who didn’t leave. “Officers from VCU Police, Richmond Police and Virginia State Police were on the scene, and RPD declared the gathering an unlawful assembly,” VCU wrote in a statement in April. Videos taken by 8News and other outlets show police taking down the wood pallets used as a barrier and other barricades, police with helmets and riot shields moving in and some objects, including water bottles, being thrown at them before some protesters and authorities push against each other and struggle over the pallets. Footage also shows chemical irritants being deployed and some demonstrators and others standing, watching and leaving the area. Members of 8News reported being hit with some sort of chemical irritant. “Individuals who chose not to leave threw objects and used chemical spray on officers. Officers used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. VCU Police report that officers did not use other chemical agents, such as tear gas,” the university’s statement continued. 8News’ team at the scene reported seeing protesters being arrested with force and on the ground with their hands put in zip ties. 8News’ video shows people inside Cabell Library who were banging on windows. “Final exams begin this week and VCU must provide students the opportunity to safely and successfully complete the semester,” VCU wrote in a statement Monday. “The gathering violated several university policies.” VCU’s student-led protest was among several against Israel’s war effort in Gaza that spread across the country on college campuses, with students taking part in sit-ins, putting up tent encampments and other demonstrations. Before police arrived on the night of April 29, the demonstrators at VCU used colorful chalk to write messages on the sidewalks near the grassy patch in front of the library where the zone was located, held up signs, waved the Palestinian flag and chanted together.