Ahsoka Tano, a former Padawan of the Jedi, faced a trial near the conclusion of the Clone Wars. This legal proceeding arose from accusations that Tano committed sedition against both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. The accusation centered on her alleged participation in the bombing of the Jedi Temple hangar. These accusations were made after she met with Letta Turmond, a suspect in the bombing who was Force choked to death in her cell while Tano was visiting.
Following these events, Tano was imprisoned, but she subsequently escaped. Despite her efforts, she was eventually caught and brought to trial. Prior to the trial, she was expelled from the Jedi Order and her Padawan braid was removed. Padmé Amidala served as her representative, working tirelessly to exonerate her client, but with limited success.
Ultimately, Tano was found not guilty because her master, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, conducted his own investigation. His investigation discovered that Barriss Offee, a Jedi Knight who had become disillusioned with the Jedi Order's actions during the Clone Wars, was actually responsible for the crime Tano was accused of. After the trial, Tano was invited to rejoin the Jedi Order, but she declined, citing a sense of betrayal and a need to forge her own path before departing the Temple.
During the Clone Wars, Barriss Offee, a Jedi Knight, became convinced that the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic had strayed from their true purpose. Consequently, she planned and executed a terrorist attack on the Jedi Temple located on Coruscant, resulting in the deaths of multiple Jedi, clone troopers, and civilian personnel. Following the attack, [she](/article/gender] orchestrated a scheme to frame Ahsoka Tano, her friend and fellow Jedi Padawan, for both the bombing of the temple hangar and the murder of Letta Turmond, who had assisted Offee in her plot.
Seeking to prove her innocence, Tano fled to the Coruscant Underworld and eventually sought assistance from Asajj Ventress, a former Separatist assassin. She also reached out to Offee for aid, which Offee exploited to set a trap for Tano. As a consequence, Clone Commander CC-3636 captured Tano. Although the Jedi High Council initially intended to conduct an internal inquiry, the Galactic Senate requested that Tano be banished from the Jedi Order, arguing that a Jedi-led trial would be perceived as biased. After examining the evidence against Tano, including the nano-droids found in the warehouse where she was apprehended, the High Council expelled her. Subsequently, Tano was transferred to the custody of the Republic Military.
The proceedings against Ahsoka Tano took place within the expansive Court Chamber of the Republic Center for Military Operations. Sheev Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor, presided over the trial, accompanied by his red-robed guards. Tano, in manacles, was escorted onto a floating platform and positioned in the center of the chamber. On either side of her, senators serving as the jury were seated in rows of ten to twelve. The Jedi High Council, present as observers, occupied another row situated above the senators.
To Tano's left was the prosecution team, led by Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin. On her right sat the defense, with Senator Padmé Amidala as the representative. Palpatine, acting as the court's judge, initiated the proceedings by outlining the charges against Tano and declaring that the court would determine her fate. He then instructed Tarkin to present his arguments, during which Tarkin pledged to prove Tano's guilt, not only for the bombing but also for eliminating her co-conspirators. He further requested that the full force of the law, including the death penalty, be applied to Tano.
Amidala delivered a passionate defense of Tano, informing the court that Turmond had arranged a meeting with Tano to reveal the identity of the true mastermind behind the bombing, but was strangled to death using the Force before she could do so. She questioned why Tano would kill Turmond in a manner that would so easily implicate her. However, Tarkin dismissed her arguments, highlighting Tano's association with Asajj Ventress, a known Separatist terrorist. Tano protested that Ventress had framed her, but her claims were met with skepticism. Eventually, the closing arguments concluded. Palpatine addressed the jury, acknowledging that many might doubt Tano's culpability, but reminding them of the numerous times they had been deceived by the Separatists and suggesting that Tano was merely another ploy to divide the Jedi and the Republic.
Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight and Tano's former master who remained convinced of her innocence, conducted his own investigation, which led him to Offee. Following a lengthy duel with the treacherous Jedi Knight, Skywalker and the Jedi Temple Guards subdued and apprehended her. Back in the courtroom, Senator Mot-Not Rab announced that the jury had reached a verdict. However, just as Palpatine was about to announce the decision, Skywalker entered with Offee. Tano was shocked to discover that her friend had been plotting against her. Offee confessed to her crimes, but maintained her conviction that the Jedi and the Republic had lost their way. Palpatine ordered that Offee be taken away, and all charges against Tano were dismissed.
Following her release by the Republic, Tano returned to the Jedi Temple, where the Jedi Council personally pardoned her. Plo Koon offered Tano their sincerest apologies for accusing her of treachery. Ki-Adi-Mundi, Saesee Tiin, and Mace Windu all viewed Tano's ordeal as a "great trial" in her training, asserting that it had made her a more accomplished Jedi than she would have been otherwise. They invited her to rejoin the Jedi Order, but Tano, feeling betrayed by her Jedi superiors after everything she had endured, declined and departed, much to everyone's surprise. Skywalker pursued her and implored her to reconsider, mentioning that he himself had struggled with the idea of leaving the Order. Tano responded that she understood, but still chose to leave, declaring that she needed to follow her own path.