Michigan AG says raids on Gaza activists part of crackdown on ‘criminal acts’
The investigation involves nearly a dozen incidents, including vandalism at the homes of U-M officials
Audio By Carbonatix
[
{
"name": "GPT - Leaderboard - Inline - Content",
"component": "35519556",
"insertPoint": "5th",
"startingPoint": "3",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "3",
"maxInsertions": 100,
"adList": [
{
"adPreset": "LeaderboardInline"
}
]
}
]
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office said a recent multi-agency raid targeting pro-Palestinian activists was part of a broader investigation into “coordinated criminal acts of vandalism and property damage” across Southeastern Michigan.
On Wednesday, authorities executed search warrants at homes in Ann Arbor, Canton, and Ypsilanti, briefly detaining several people. No arrests were made during the raids.
The investigation involves nearly a dozen incidents dating back to February 2024, including vandalism at the homes of University of Michigan officials and businesses causing approximately $100,000 in damage, according to Nessel’s office. The acts occurred mostly late at night and included smashed windows and the use of noxious chemical substances, the AG’s office says. Political slogans or messages were also left behind at each site, including “Free Palestine.”
“Due to the many, evidently coordinated and related, criminal acts occurring across the jurisdictions of several local law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities, the Department of Attorney General is conducting this unified investigation with the aid of local authorities,” the AG’s office said in a news release Thursday.
Among the locations targeted were the homes of U-M President Santa Ono and U-M Regent Jordan Acker, as well as the Jewish Federation of Detroit in Bloomfield Hills. One incident involved vandalizing a residence in Ann Arbor while children were sleeping inside, according to the release.
Wednesday’s raids drew immediate criticism from civil rights advocates who accused Nessel, the state’s first Jewish attorney general, of targeting peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters. In September 2024, Nessel charged nine pro-Palestinian demonstrators for refusing to leave a protest encampment at U-M after police orders, drawing condemnation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.
Between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Wednesday, FBI agents and local police arrived in unmarked vehicles at residences linked to University of Michigan pro-Palestinian activists. Electronics and personal belongings were confiscated and a total of nine people were detained and later released, according to the TAHRIR Coalition, a group that has called for divestment from Israel.
During the Ypsilanti raid, officers initially stalled when asked to produce warrants and later presented “unusual” warrants authorized by the AG’s office, which activists say lacked clear probable cause for any alleged crime, the coalition said in a news release Thursday.
“Dana Nessel frames herself as a democratic bulwark against the Trump Administration, yet has demonstrated continuous collaboration with Trump’s federal government to repress the popular movement for Palestinian liberation,” said Liz Jacob, attorney at the Sugar Law Center for Economic Social Justice. “Nessel’s irresponsible conduct has already endangered Michigan residents, putting them in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant and anti-democratic assaults. On April 6 at the Detroit airport, federal agents questioned and harassed Amir Makled, an Arab-American NLG lawyer representing one of the U-M Encampment 11. This joint escalation by Nessel, the FBI, State and local police is a clear attempt to intimidate protestors and attack their constitutional right to freedom of speech.”
Activists also noted the raids are part of broader state actions against pro-Palestinian advocacy at U-M, including more than 56 arrests since November 2023 linked to protests against the university’s investments related to Israel. The activists accused Nessel and U-M regents of facilitating a wider federal crackdown on higher education and pro-Palestinian advocacy.
Danny Wimmer, a spokesperson for the AG’s office, previously told Metro Times that immigration authorities were not involved and that those targeted in the search warrants appeared to be American citizens.
No charges have yet been filed related to Wednesday’s raids, and the investigation is ongoing.
