DETROIT — Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment in Detroit charging eight pro-Palestinian activists with conspiring to run a criminal intimidation campaign against University of Michigan officials. The indictment states the activists sought to force the university to sever financial ties with Israel.
Six of the eight defendants were expected to appear in federal court in Detroit on Wednesday. Law enforcement detained one defendant in Wisconsin, and one defendant remained not in custody at the time of the indictment announcement.
U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said, "In America, we rule by law not by fear. 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 documents acts of vandalism targeting the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and businesses operating in Michigan. It also references an incident in which counterfeit bloody corpses were placed on the lawn of an elected university trustee. Anti-Israel messages were spray-painted at the residence of Santa Ono, who was the university president when the vandalism occurred.
The indictment alleges the accused utilized digital platforms to disseminate threats to their targets and supporters of Israel. Threatening imagery associated with Hamas, including red inverted triangles and red handprints, was allegedly used against their targets.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have advocated since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict for the university to divest from companies with Israeli connections. University officials reported that the institution holds zero direct investments in firms with Israeli ties. University financial disclosures show less than $15 million allocated to investment vehicles that may include Israeli companies, which constitutes less than 0.1% of the university's overall endowment. Police dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment at the university in 2024 after it had been present for one month.