Nessel charges 11 pro-Palestinian protesters over tent camp at University of Michigan

LANSING, MI – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed charges against 11 pro-Palestinian protesters linked to rallies on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.

The 11 defendants are mostly students or former students, Nessel said in a Sept. 12 statement. Nessel's office was called in after Washtenaw County Attorney Eli Savit and university President Santa Ono supported her office's investigation, she said.

Nessel's office investigated 35 protesters, 11 of whom were from the month-long camp on the university's Diag that ended with a police raid on May 21.

Although aspects of freedom of expression were taken into account, the charges ultimately relate to “violent and criminal behavior” of the demonstrators, said Nessel.

“The rights of free speech and assembly are fundamental, and my office fully supports every citizen's right to free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution,” Nessel said in a statement. “However, violent and criminal behavior or actions that trample on the rights of others cannot be tolerated. I hope today's charges serve as a reminder to anyone who chooses to assemble, regardless of the occasion, that the First Amendment provides no excuse for illegal activity.”

The Tahrir Coalition, a student organization that advocates for the university's withdrawal from Israel in light of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, did not respond to a request for comment.

The war between Israel and Hamas has sparked protests around the world. It began when Hamas-led fighters entered southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250. According to the Associated Press, Gaza's Health Ministry has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in the Israeli offensive.

The university confirmed that the 11 people were charged by Nessel's office in connection with the camp in May and recommended that any questions be directed to her office.

Democratic U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib of Detroit criticized Nessel's decision to bring charges.

“The Attorney General failed to bring justice to the victims of the Flint water crisis, but has time to bring frivolous charges that only serve to silence those who speak out against a genocidal apartheid regime? This shameful attack on students' rights will fail. Follow the Constitution,” Tlaib wrote on X.

Nessel's office examined police bodycam footage, police reports, Ono's statement ending the encampment, communications between university officials and the university's fire marshal, a dispersal order from the university's Department of Public Safety, university bylaws regarding protests, cellphone videos and photos, social media posts and surveillance footage of protests across campus and in front of regents' houses.

Read more: Gaza protesters leave fake corpses and bloody toys in front of the homes of the University of Michigan regents

The university warned protesters at the camp 11 times that they were violating university policies, adding that officials intended to remove the roughly 60 tents, Nessel said. The camp was set up in April, just weeks before graduation ceremonies, and attracted over 200 people.

The university's fire safety officer inspected the warehouse in May and found fire and safety hazards such as a generator and overloaded electrical equipment, Nessel said.

“The densely packed tents with no escape routes and the highly flammable nature of the tent materials and other furnishings have made this camp highly fire-prone and created an escape route for all residents in the event of a fire. If a fire were to occur in this camp, the number of casualties would be catastrophic,” the fire chief said, according to Nessel's testimony, adding that the nearby fire hydrant at the Shapiro Library was so badly damaged that it was “no longer operational.”

After protesters refused to raise those concerns following a meeting with the fire marshal, dozens of university officers in riot gear approached the camp at 5:38 a.m. on May 21 to read an order to disperse the protesters. After the order was read again, officers moved through the camp in a wall formation with shields and batons, Nessel said.

Read more: Watch police clear Gaza camp at the University of Michigan

“The officers' path was repeatedly blocked by protesters who placed chairs, tables and other objects inside the camp and threw them into the police's path. Police advanced from the camp's south entrance at 5:48 a.m. to North University at 6:15 a.m.,” Nessel said.

Several demonstrators physically obstructed the officers and pushed them against them, Nessel said.

Two protesters were charged with trespassing, Nessel said. Seven others were also charged with trespassing and resisting and obstructing a police officer, which carries a maximum sentence of two years, Nessel said.

“That morning, there were dozens of protesters in that camp who immediately obeyed orders from police officers present on the scene and dispersed,” Nessel said in a statement, adding that those facing serious crime charges had direct physical contact with police officers.

“Police must be able to do their jobs to ensure public safety without unnecessary risks of injury or violence, and these laws are designed to prevent such risks,” Nessel said. “All students should know that it is a crime to disobey lawful orders of police, whether on campus or off, at a permitted demonstration or an unauthorized encampment, and this is especially true when using physical force to prevent police action.”

The other two defendants were an alumnus and someone not affiliated with the university, Nessel said. Those individuals were charged with separate incidents involving a counterprotester on April 25 at the Diag. The alumnus was charged with disturbing the peace for throwing down protest flags and ethnic intimidation, Nessel said.

The other person took several flags from the protesters and broke two of them, leading to two charges of malicious damage to property, Nessel said.

“A college campus should be a place where the exploration and exchange of ideas and opinions can flourish, but conviction in one's ideals is no excuse for breaking the law,” Nessel said in a statement. “A campus should not be lawless; what is a crime elsewhere in the city remains a crime on college grounds.”

No charges have been filed for protesters' disruption of Honors Convocation on March 25 at Hill Auditorium, nor for an April 22 protest outside the university's art museum. One person was arrested by local police at the April 22 protest, but it is not clear whether those charges have been forwarded to Nessel's office.

According to the student organization Tahrir Coalition, protesters left fake corpses and bloody toys outside eight regents' houses around 6 a.m. on May 15. Nessel's office is still investigating those incidents, she said.

The charges were filed in 15th District Court in Washtenaw County, but none of the defendants have yet been brought to trial, Nessel said. The university should also review its policies on protests, free speech and student safety and enforce the rules in a “content-neutral manner,” she added.

The fall semester began with more conflicts between protesters and police. On August 28, four protesters were arrested while participating in a “die-in,” in which protesters lay down on Diag's property to simulate casualties of the ongoing war in Gaza.

If you would like to receive more reports like this free of charge in your inbox, Click here and sign up for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools.

Want more news from Ann Arbor? Bookmark local Ann Arbor news site or sign up for the free “3@3 Ann Arbor“ daily newsletter.