Charges were dropped against four Madison men involved in an altercation on the 200 block of Lakelawn Place last week.

The men, three of whom were University of Wisconsin students and members of the Acacia fraternity, were involved in a fight with a pitchfork and a machete. According to a release from the Madison Police Department, the fight started after the men heard noises outside coming from people who were camped outside the fraternity in a "large tent."

No one was injured as a result of the altercation. However, charges were tentatively filed against the four men — Justin Baker, 22, was charged with disorderly conduct while armed; Jeffrey Schorfheide, 20, was charged with disorderly conduct while armed; Matthew Christiansen, 22, was charged with resisting; and George Halkias, 22, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting. Schorfheide, a UW junior, is the photo editor for The Badger Herald.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer said the District Attorney's Office has decided not to pursue criminal or non-criminal charges.

"The office felt that each of the four cases lacked prosecutorial merit," Verveer said. "They were given today as their mandatory court date, but because we declined to charge them, none of them needed to appear in court this morning."

Verveer said the four men, who were all initially taken to the Dane County Jail, will have the cash bail they posted returned to them.

When interviewed after the incident, MPD Public Information Officer Mike Hanson said he was unsure why the tent was outside the Acacia fraternity to begin with.