Federal prosecutors have charged eight pro-Palestinian activists with orchestrating a criminal intimidation campaign designed to pressure the University of Michigan into severing financial ties with Israel, an indictment unsealed Wednesday shows.
The charges mark one of the most significant federal prosecutions targeting pro-Palestinian demonstrators since campus protests erupted across the country following the Israel-Hamas war. Prosecutors allege the group used threats, vandalism, and social media to terrorize university officials, businesses, and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
"In America, we rule by law not by fear," said Jerome Gorgon Jr, a US attorney. "These alleged threats and attempts to terrorize government officials, businesses, and the Jewish Federation are anti-American. We will counter intimidation with justice."
The indictment details a pattern of escalating harassment. Activists allegedly placed fake bloody corpses on the lawn of a university board member and spray-painted anti-Israel messages at the home of then-President Santa Ono. Prosecutors say the group marked their targets with symbols associated with Hamas, including red inverted triangles and red handprints, then amplified the threats across social media to ensure victims and their supporters would see them.
Six of the eight defendants were expected to appear in federal court in Detroit on Wednesday. One was arrested in Wisconsin, and another remained at large, according to the US attorney's office.
The charges come as the University of Michigan has faced criticism over its response to student activism. The university has insisted it holds no direct Israeli investments and maintains less than $15 million in funds that might include Israeli-linked companies. Nonetheless, pro-Palestinian students have demanded divestment from corporations like Boeing and Lockheed Martin that supply weapons to the Israeli military.
Earlier reporting revealed that university officials took unusual steps to pressure Michigan's attorney general to bring felony charges against protesters. Further investigations also exposed that the school hired private investigators to monitor students involved in campus demonstrations. One surveilled student has since filed suit against the university.
While thousands of student protesters were arrested nationwide during the 2023 and 2024 demonstrations, most charges were filed at the state and local level and subsequently dismissed. The federal indictment suggests a shift toward more aggressive prosecution at the national level, particularly targeting activists accused of criminal acts beyond protest itself.
Author James Rodriguez: "This prosecution signals the Trump administration's willingness to weaponize federal courts against dissent, but the university's own tactics to suppress campus speech may prove equally problematic in the long run."
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