Activists say southeast Michigan police raids are targeting pro-Palestinian protesters

Yahoo

23-04-2025

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies executed search warrants Wednesday morning at homes in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Canton Township, in what one activist group says are raids targeting pro-Palestinian protesters.
Investigators say the raids are not immigration related. Gaza War protesters have clashed with police over other activities.
Some who were arrested last year at an encampment on the Diag at the University of Michigan are waiting to learn if they will stand trial on felony charges in Washtenaw County. Police also are investigating a series of attacks on the homes of U-M regents and Provost Laurie McCauley that were marked by anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian graffiti.
Detroit FBI office spokesman Jordan Hall confirmed his agency was present in Ypsilanti, but declined to elaborate on the reason, saying only it was for "law enforcement activity."
He also said the Michigan Attorney General's Office is handling the case.
Danny Wimmer, press secretary for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, confirmed that investigators executed search warrants in all three places. He said that multiple people were briefly detained during the execution of the warrants, but they were all released.
When asked whether the searches are tied to the attacks on U-M regents' homes, he would only say:
"We will not be discussing the nature of the investigation at this time."
He noted that "there is no immigration enforcement angle to the execution of these search warrants."
The TAHRIR Coalition, a pro-Palestinian student group that has demanded that the University of Michigan divest from Israel, said in a statement that the raids happened about 8 a.m.
"FBI agents, the Michigan State Police, and local police officers in unmarked vehicles arrived at the homes of University of Michigan pro-Palestine activists across Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Canton," the statement said.
The statement said that at the Ypsilanti home, the officers briefly detained four people and confiscated personal belongings. At the Ann Arbor home, officers confiscated electronics and detained two people before releasing them. No one was detained in Canton, the statement said.
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The Graduate Employees Organization, the union that represents graduate workers at U-M, said in a post on X that one of its members was targeted in a raid.
"This is an alarming escalation by the university and state," the post said.
Protests against the Gaza War have raged on U-M's campus for more than a year. The school has suspended one activist group, Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE).
The university's response to the protests has prompted lawsuits from students and others who claim the school violated their constitutional rights.
Contact John Wisely: [e-mail]. On X: @jwisely
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Activists: Michigan raids target pro-Palestinian protesters