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11 Muslim Students To Be Arraigned For Allegedly Disturbing Speech

SANTA ANA (AP) — Eleven Muslim students charged with disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. at a California university are due in court.

The students are scheduled to be arraigned Friday on charges of misdemeanor conspiracy to disturb a meeting and misdemeanor disturbance of a meeting in a case that has stoked an intense debate about freedom of speech.

Defense attorneys are also expected to discuss their motion to have Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas removed from the case.

The students were arrested on Feb. 8, 2010, after shouting in protest at a speech at the University of California, Irvine, on U.S.-Israeli security.

The interruptions forced Ambassador Michael Oren to halt his remarks for 20 minutes.

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KNX 1070's Mike Landa reports.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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