{"id":5455,"date":"2026-06-11T13:49:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/11\/doj-indicts-pro-palestine-activists-after-fbi-raids-sparking-protest\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T13:49:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:49:05","slug":"doj-indicts-pro-palestine-activists-after-fbi-raids-sparking-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/11\/doj-indicts-pro-palestine-activists-after-fbi-raids-sparking-protest\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ indicts pro-Palestine activists after FBI raids, sparking protest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eight pro-Palestine activists associated with the University of Michigan appeared in court Wednesday for actions allegedly undertaken in connection to pro-Palestine activism. Their <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1jAYp4I2gYSEVFen-vOXZGufhqwl_7Yco\/view?usp=sharing\">indictment<\/a> was unsealed following a series of arrests by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/contact-us\">FBI<\/a> early Wednesday morning, which were quickly protested by local pro-Palestine groups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around 7:00 a.m., the FBI executed arrest warrants across multiple states, detaining several individuals involved with local pro-Palestine activism in and around the University. The FBI was assisted by multiple local law enforcement agencies, including the University\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dpss.umich.edu\/\">Division of Public Safety and Security<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hours later, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-edmi\">United States Attorney\u2019s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan<\/a> announced in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-edmi\/pr\/department-justice-indicts-eight-conspirators-who-threatened-university-michigan\">press release<\/a> that eight individuals \u2014 Zainab Hakim, Amatullah Hakim, Jonathan Zou, Alexander Sepulveda, Mariam Odeh, Paige Feyock, Colin Weger and Ahmet Korkaya \u2014 had been federally indicted for an alleged campaign of vandalism and threats against the University and other local groups. FBI Special Agent Jennifer Runyan described the allegations in a written statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo one has the right to threaten, intimidate, and coerce public officials, law enforcement officers, community institutions, or their families,\u201d Runyan wrote. \u201cIn the dead of night, masked and hooded defendants allegedly threw noxious chemicals through the windows of families\u2019 homes and taped demand letters to their front doors. At every step they attempted to cover their tracks and delete evidence of their crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six of the eight defendants are directly associated with the University, five as current or former students and one as a researcher. Weger is an Ann Arbor resident, and Korkaya is a Wisconsin resident who previously lived in southeastern Michigan. All are associated with activist groups which have protested Israel\u2019s ongoing military campaign in Gaza \u2014 a conflict that has killed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2026\/2\/18\/gaza-death-toll-exceeds-75000-as-independent-data-verify-loss\">more than 75,000 people<\/a> and is classified as a genocide by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2025\/09\/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds\">United Nations<\/a>. These include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/safexmich\/\">Students Allied for Freedom and Equality<\/a> and the University\u2019s chapter of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jvpumich\/\">Jewish Voice for Peace<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of the charges pertain to incidents of alleged vandalism at the homes of various University officials and other locations between 2024 and 2025. These include the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/news-briefs\/pro-palestine-graffiti-broken-window-found-at-provosts-residence\/\">house<\/a> of Provost Laurie McCauley, homes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/administration\/off-campus-residences-of-santa-ono-and-umich-chief-investment-officer-vandalized\/\">multiple<\/a> U-M regents and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/oakland\/2024\/10\/07\/jewish-federation-of-detroit-vandalized-one-year-hamas-attack-israel\/75556103007\/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=true&amp;gca-epti=z1158xxe1158xxv004555d--50--b--50--&amp;gca-ft=168&amp;gca-ds=sophi\">Jewish Federation of Detroit<\/a>, which the indictment claims were planned and carried out by the eight detained activists. These instances of vandalism typically consisted of spray-painted pro-Palestine messages and taped notes demanding the University divest its endowment from the state of Israel \u2014 a policy the University has <a href=\"https:\/\/publicaffairs.vpcomm.umich.edu\/key-issues\/divestment\/\">refused<\/a> to consider. Other acts allegedly committed by the defendants\u00a0 included breaking windows and throwing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nj.gov\/health\/eoh\/rtkweb\/documents\/fs\/0300.pdf\">butyric acid<\/a> into homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the indictment claims some of the defendants sent messages to each other expressing a desire to directly harm multiple University officials and their families, though these statements do not appear to have been acted upon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For their alleged offenses, the group have been charged with conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate and foreign commerce, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The indictment also charges two of the defendants with intimidating a federal witness, claiming they confronted an unnamed student whom they suspected was an informant for law enforcement. The document does not describe the exact nature of the alleged confrontation, though it claims they discussed searching the unnamed individual for a wire. If convicted, the pair could each face up to 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement provided to The Michigan Daily, SAFE wrote that it believes the FBI arrests and indictment are part of a broader trend of anti-Palestine repression by the University and state institutions.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cToday\u2019s unprecedented retaliation by the regents in collaboration with the federal government follows a national trend of escalated targeting of Palestine solidarity activism on college campuses, but we will continue to reject our university\u2019s complicity until divestment,\u201d the statement read. \u201cFor nearly three years now, the University of Michigan community has faced extraordinary surveillance, disciplinary proceedings, suspensions, raids, investigations, and public targeting by the regents and university administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pro-Palestine activists at the University have faced criminal charges before. Notably, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel previously pressed \u2014 and later dropped \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/may\/05\/michigan-dana-nessel-pro-palestinian-protesters\">charges<\/a> against seven students affiliated with the 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/administration\/24-hours-at-the-umich-gaza-solidarity-encampment\/\">Gaza solidarity encampment<\/a>. The University has instituted its own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/administration\/university-rejects-student-relations-advisory-committee-proposals-to-protect-political-speech-reinstate-appeals-board\/\">policies<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/news-briefs\/umich-officially-updates-student-conduct-policy-launches-osa\/\">crackdowns<\/a> directed against pro-Palestine protesters on campus, sparking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/opinion\/op-eds\/faculty-working-group-on-institutional-reflection-why-trump-would-be-perfect-for-an-honorary-u-m-degree\/\">criticism<\/a> from campus community members who argue the institution is stifling free speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, these raids and federal felony charges mark an intensification of the government\u2019s campaign against pro-Palestine activists at the University, which appears to be directed at a federal level <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/news\/ann-arbor\/2026\/06\/8-arrested-in-fbi-raids-related-to-pro-palestine-advocacy-at-university-of-michigan.html#:~:text=The%20attorney%20general%E2%80%99s%20office%20said%20Wednesday%20that%20it%20was%20%E2%80%9Cnot%20involved%20today%20in%20any%20operations.%E2%80%9D\">without<\/a> the involvement of Michigan\u2019s Attorney General. FBI Director Kash Patel praised the arrests and condemned the activists in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FBIDirectorKash\/status\/2064732631166509260\">post to X<\/a> Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey deliberately chose the one-year anniversary of Hamas\u2019s attack to engage in some of their most visible criminal acts \u2026\u201d Patel wrote. \u201c@FBIDetroit and our partners pursued a thorough, detailed investigation of this case \u2013 and subjects have been charged for their alleged role in conspiracies to transmit threats in interstate and foreign commerce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While government officials and some <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RegentHubbard\/status\/2064765529080938682\">University leaders<\/a> have celebrated the indictments, local activists and other community members have responded in protest of the charges. By the time the defendants appeared in court at noon, a group of approximately 40 demonstrators had gathered to protest outside the courthouse in Detroit. Several others watched the proceedings from inside the building.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One Rackham student present at the protest, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, told The Daily they believed the indictments were unjust.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is just madness, we\u2019ve seen that there\u2019s been criminalization of protests at the highest levels of the government,\u201d the student said. \u201cTo have the whole weight of the federal government (and) the state of Michigan come down on students should be a warning to all of us, because students are the ones who are the first to speak up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Daily was able to partially observe the brief court appearances of the pro-Palestine activists who appeared in Detroit Wednesday, which focused on the setting of bond hearings for Friday at 1:00 p.m. According to a message later sent by an organizer in a pro-Palestine Signal chat obtained by The Daily, four activists will be held in custody until this time. Three others were released. The status of the eighth activist was not explicitly stated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAFE and other allied groups plan to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DZbD1jZgGhA\/\">reconvene<\/a> outside the Detroit Federal Court Building Friday to continue protesting in support of the detained activists. The organization told The Daily that it believes the presence of community support will be decisive as this case unfolds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe strength and support of our community sustains our organizing, and we know that every attempt at heightened repression will only make our movement louder,\u201d the statement read. \u201cDespite the state trying to isolate organizers from the movement through today\u2019s arrests, our community has continued to show up for each other and for Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Daily News Editor Glenn Hedin can be reached at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/government\/doj-indicts-eight-pro-palestine-activists-after-fbi-raids-sparking-community-protests\/mailto:heglenn@umich.edu\"><em>heglenn@umich.edu<\/em><\/a><em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eight pro-Palestine activists associated with the University of Michigan appeared in court Wednesday for actions allegedly undertaken in connection to pro-Palestine activism. Their indictment was unsealed following a series of arrests by the FBI early Wednesday morning, which were quickly protested by local pro-Palestine groups. Around 7:00 a.m., the FBI executed arrest warrants across multiple [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2409,4887,508,4888,2408,868,4889,4890],"class_list":["post-5455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-activists","tag-doj","tag-fbi","tag-indicts","tag-propalestine","tag-protest","tag-raids","tag-sparking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5457,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5455\/revisions\/5457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}