Michigan attorney general drops charges against University of Michigan Diag protestors
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Rhiannon Willow, a PhD student and research assistant in the Physics Department, speaks at TAHRIR Coalition "Call to Action". July 1, 2024. Willow was one of seven people whose charges for trespassing and resisting and/or obstructing a police officer during campus protests were dropped Monday by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. (Photo by Jon King/Michigan Advance)
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Monday that her office was dropping charges against seven pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan.
The seven individuals; Oliver Kozler, Samantha Lewis, Henry MacKeen-Shapiro, Michael Mueller, Asad Siddiqui, Avi Tachna-Fram and Rhiannon Willow, were charged last September with trespassing and resisting and/or obstructing a police officer after an encampment by pro-Palestinian protestors on the university's Diag on the Ann Arbor campus was broken up by police in May 2024.
All seven previously pleaded not guilty and were in Ann Arbor District Court Monday morning awaiting a decision on a motion for Nessel to recuse herself from the case when they learned of the dismissals.
In announcing the decision to drop the charges, Nessel called the recusal motion a 'diversionary tactic,' and that because the case had become 'a lightning rod of contention,' it was no longer in the public's best interest to proceed.
'These distractions and ongoing delays have created a circus-like atmosphere to these proceedings,' Nessel said. 'While I stand by my charging decisions, and believe, based on the evidence, a reasonable jury would find the defendants guilty of the crimes alleged, I no longer believe these cases to be a prudent use of my department's resources, and, as such, I have decided to dismiss the cases.'
Another factor in Nessel's decision was a letter the Detroit Free Press reported was sent to the court last week by the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, defending Nessel against accusations that she was biased against the Muslim and Arab American communities.
'We have learned that a public statement in support of my office from a local non-profit has been directly communicated to the court,' Nessel said in her statement. 'The impropriety of this action has led us to the difficult decision to drop these charges.'
In response to the news, the TAHRIR Coalition, made up of dozens of pro-Palestinian student groups at the University of Michigan, said on social media that the decision 'is what happens when we resist and refuse to cower.'
The protests were part of a wave of demonstrations at college campuses across the nation that began in the aftermath of Israeli military strikes in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, surprise attack by Hamas on Israel.
Meanwhile, Nessel's office continues to carry out an investigation of pro-Palestinian protesters accused of causing approximately $100,000 of damage at up to a dozen locations, including at the homes of University of Michigan President Santa Ono and University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker.
A warrant sweep in conjunction with that investigation was carried out last month at locations in Ann Arbor, Canton and Ypsilanti. Charges have yet to be filed in those incidents.
On Sunday, Ono announced he would leave the university later this summer to become the president at the University of Florida.
Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.
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