WBZ)BOSTON Two Boston College seniors pleaded not guilty to trespassing charges Friday for going onto the roof of the Statehouse, where they snapped photographs and got inside the building's historic golden dome, prosecutors said.
Francisco Martin, 21, of Cincinnati, and Mehdi Akbar Hashambhoy, 21, of Morocco, were arrested Thursday afternoon. They were released without bail Friday after being arraigned in Boston Municipal Court.
Their next court date is June 11.
Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn called the incident a misunderstanding.
"They were two seniors who are leaving the area upon graduation," he said. "They were simply trying to take pictures from atop the Statehouse."
Prosecutors were satisfied the pair posed no threat to the public.
"At this point, their activity appears to have been more dangerous to themselves than to anyone else," said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.
The men initially were arrested on trespassing and vandalism charges, State Police Sgt. Tim Reardon said. But Wark said only a trespassing complaint was filed.
They climbed through a window onto the roof and were able to get inside the golden dome, Wark said. Many Statehouse windows were open Thursday, with temperatures in the 80s.
Dunn said the men may face disciplinary sanctions "that would likely involve doing community service prior to graduation." They are getting degrees from BC's business school this month, Dunn said.
"It's students who used poor judgment for what was an innocent activity," he said.
It wasn't known if the men had attorneys, Dunn said.
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