"This attack against Muslim students and the Muslim community is an attack on democracy," Benitez said at a gathering of media representatives following the verdict. "It's an attack on all of those who believe in the U.S. Constitution and in freedom of speech. "We stand together today," he added. "The Muslim community is not alone in this. On this day I am a Muslim."

Bishop Jon Bruno of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles issued a statement after the verdict calling upon "Orange County bishops, rabbis, and Islamic leaders to come together immediately in renewed solidarity to address the issues and injustices raised in relation to these verdicts.

"Our Episcopal congregations will also increase participation in the Shura Council's Open Mosque Day on October 16 to demonstrate our understanding that Islam is at its core a religion of peace within our shared Abrahamic tradition, and deserving of equal protection under First Amendment freedoms," he concluded.

Just a few hours later, Orange County Superior Judge Peter Wilson sentenced the students to 56 hours of community service and three years probation to be reduced to one year after completion of the community service.

Before imposing the sentence, Wilson said he considered the students' "clear records" and that they are "productive members of their respective communities and that ... according to the evidence presented were motivated by their beliefs." He also lifted a gag order that had prevented the defendants and attorneys from speaking with the media.

The students shouted at Michael Oren shortly after the Israeli Ambassador to the United States began a Feb. 8, 2010, speech on the UCI campus. Oren had been invited to speak by several UCI groups, including Anteaters for Israel (http://www.afiuci.org), and the school's law and political science departments.

A videotape of the event shown during the trial depicted the students rising in turn and shouting such statements as: "Michael Oren, propagating murder isn't free speech." And, "You sir, are an accomplice to genocide." Following each statement, the student was escorted peacefully from the room by campus security amid both cheering and jeering. They were later "processed" –handcuffed, arrested, and fingerprinted, defense attorneys said.

Oren left the podium but later returned. Deputy District Attorney Dan Wagner argued that the student disruptions prevented him from completing his speech and from participating in a subsequent question and answer session.

The students objected to the university's invitation to the American-born Oren, who emigrated to Israel in 1979 and joined the Israeli Defense Forces. He served multiple tours in the Israeli Army including the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. According to a statement by the UCI Muslim Students Council (MSU), Oren is "an outspoken supporter of the recent war on Gaza."

He "stands in the way of international law by refusing to cooperate with the United Nation's Goldstone Report, a fact-finding mission endorsed by the United Nations Human Rights Council," the statement added. "The Goldstone Report accuses the Israeli government of committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity in the densely populated Gaza Strip."

A 48-minute video of the speech and its aftermath is available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfLs_ptJzQA

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