logo
Authorities raid 5 Michigan homes amid yearlong vandalism investigation into pro-Palestinian graffiti

Authorities raid 5 Michigan homes amid yearlong vandalism investigation into pro-Palestinian graffiti

CNN25-04-2025

Authorities raided five homes in southeastern Michigan on Wednesday as part of a yearlong vandalism investigation into pro-Palestinian graffiti targeting the homes of University of Michigan officials and others.
Search warrants, authorized by a Michigan state court, were executed in Ann Arbor, Canton and Ypsilanti, according to a Thursday news release from the Michigan Department of Attorney General. The individuals whose homes were searched were not arrested, though some were detained and later released, officials said.
The search warrants were executed as part of the Michigan Department of Attorney General's investigation into at least 12 'coordinated and related' acts of vandalism and property damage that occurred in multiple Michigan counties between approximately February 2024 through March 2025, officials said. The estimated cost of the damage is about $100,000, according to authorities.
'These search warrants were not investigative of protest activity on the campus of the University of Michigan nor the Diag encampment; today's search warrants are in furtherance of our investigation into multijurisdictional acts of vandalism,' the attorney general's office told CNN Wednesday, adding that local, state and federal authorities were involved in the searches.
'Political slogans or messages' were placed at every vandalized site, the attorney general's office said. Graffiti displayed pro-Palestinian messages at most of the sites, photos show.
Several University of Michigan administrators were among those targeted.
The home of Erik Lundberg, the university's chief investment officer, was vandalized with the words 'Divest' and 'Free Palestine.' University of Michigan President Santa Ono's home was vandalized with graffiti that included the word 'intifada' in part. The home of Jordan Acker, a member of the university's Board of Regents, was also damaged – with a window broken and the words 'Free Palestine' written on his car. His law firm was also vandalized with pro-Palestinian language. Photos of provost Laurie McCauley's home likewise show shattered glass and the words 'No honor in genocide' graffitied on her fence.
No charges have been filed against any of the people whose homes were searched, authorities said. The attorney general's office did not identify any suspects in the investigation.
'The University of Michigan condemns these criminal acts in the strongest possible terms,' the school said in a December statement after Acker's home was vandalized. 'They are abhorrent and, unfortunately, just the latest in a number of incidents where individuals have been harassed because of their work on behalf of the university. This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.'
The Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice, which is representing two of the individuals whose homes were raided, said most are University of Michigan students. When asked about the vandalism at Acker's home, the lawyers denied that their clients were involved.
John Philo, the legal director at the law center, told CNN Thursday that the individuals are being targeted for their pro-Palestinian beliefs.
'The students that were targeted appear to be those that UM officials believe are most active in on-campus protests - protests that have been loud at times…but which in no way can be characterized as violent or causing significant vandalism,' Philo said. 'Other than a shared viewpoint concerning Palestine, a real question exists as to why student campus protestors are being targeted or is that the point - because they are expressing that viewpoint on UM's campus.'
The incidents followed months of tensions between the university's administration and pro-Palestinian students who had in 2024 demanded university leaders divest from Israel amid its war in Gaza.
Other instances of vandalism and property damage occurred at the Jewish Federation of Detroit, an officer's home, a country club, a car dealership, an office and the historic Wilcox House, according to the attorney general's office.
The alleged vandalisms were committed in the middle of the night, and in one instance, children were sleeping at a residence but were awoken, according to the attorney general's office. Windows were smashed in several cases and 'noxious chemical substances were propelled' into homes on two occasions.
The TAHRIR Coalition, a pro-Palestinian student organization at the University of Michigan, said FBI agents, the Michigan State Police and local police officers detained but later released six activists whose homes were searched in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. Personal belongings and electronics were also confiscated, according to the organization. At a third residence in Canton, no individuals were detained. At least one of the individuals was required to have a DNA sample taken, according to Philo.
At one of the homes searched Wednesday, police forcibly entered after they negotiated entry for more than an hour to satisfy the search warrant, the attorney general's office said.
Graduate Employees' Organization, a union representing graduate workers at the University of Michigan, said one of its members was among those detained and released and 'executors of the search warrants were reluctant to reveal their warrants or their reason for visiting these activists.'
'We strongly condemn the actions taken today and all past and present repression of political activism,' the union said in a news release. 'We urge University of Michigan administrators, the Regents of the University of Michigan, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to end their campaign against students and stop putting graduate workers in harm's way.'
Philo said that the multi-agency response to alleged vandalism was unwarranted.
'None of these students have any [history] of violence, none have prior criminal records, and none have been charged. They are 17-22 year olds and very much college students or recent grads,' Philo said. 'Why were three or more police agencies at every home? Why were they handcuffed during the searches?'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UK and others sanction two far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers for ‘inciting extremist violence'
UK and others sanction two far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers for ‘inciting extremist violence'

Boston Globe

time37 minutes ago

  • Boston Globe

UK and others sanction two far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers for ‘inciting extremist violence'

They could now face asset freezes and travel bans. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the five countries said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich 'have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.' UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the two men 'have been inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months' and 'encouraging egregious abuses of human rights.' Advertisement 'These measures are directed at individuals who directly contribute to extremist settler violence,' said Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand. 'The measures are not directed against the state of Israel itself.' Smotrich wrote on social media that he learned of the sanctions while he was inaugurating a new West Bank settlement. 'We are determined to continue building,' he said. Advertisement Ben-Gvir, also writing on social media, said 'we overcame Pharoah, we'll overcome Starmer's Wall,' referring to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel's government condemned the announcement, which came as traditional allies of Israel escalate denouncements of Israel's actions in Gaza, from the high civilian death toll to a months-long blockade that led to famine warnings. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the sanctions decision 'outrageous.' He said he had discussed it with Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel's response. He said that the move threatened to harden Hamas' stance in ongoing negotiations to end the war in Gaza and to cut short Israel's operation in Gaza before it achieves its goals. Benny Gantz, a centrist Israeli lawmaker and political rival to Netanyahu, wrote he 'vehemently' disagreed with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, but said the move was 'profound moral mistake and sends a dangerous message to terrorists around the world.' Netanyahu is the target of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court last year over alleged war crimes in Gaza, part of a global wave of outrage at Israel's conduct during its 20-month war against Hamas. Netanyahu has denied the allegations and accused the court of being biased against Israel. The Biden administration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank — sanctions that were lifted by President Trump. Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer who spent years campaigning for the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir — along with violent West Bank settlers — described Tuesday's move as 'historic.' 'It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken,' he said. 'It's unbelievable that it took so long for Western governments to sanction Israeli politicians, and the fact that it's being done while Trump is president is quite amazing.' Advertisement Mack added: 'It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next.' Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state. Successive Israeli governments have promoted settlement growth and construction stretching back decades. It has exploded under Netanyahu's far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts. There are now well over 100 settlements across the West Bank that house more than 500,000 settlers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the territory's 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority administering population centers. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal, and Palestinians see them as the greatest obstacle to an eventual two-state solution, which is still seen internationally as the only way to resolve the conflict.

S.F. cafe endures worst vandalism to date after ICE protesters descend upon Mission
S.F. cafe endures worst vandalism to date after ICE protesters descend upon Mission

San Francisco Chronicle​

time41 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

S.F. cafe endures worst vandalism to date after ICE protesters descend upon Mission

San Francisco cafe owner Manny Yekutiel was eating dinner at home Monday night when he got an urgent call from a person attending an event at Manny's, his cafe in the Mission District. 'Right now, I am watching someone breaking your windows,' the person told him. 'They are trying to get into space. Should I videotape them, or should I run away?' Yekutiel told the person to protect themselves, and that he would be there in five minutes. After racing to the cafe, he surveyed the damage: a bashed window near the entrance and graffiti sprayed all over the restaurant's outside walls. After cleaning up the mess, he left and went to sleep. But in the morning, he woke up to a nightmare. According to security cameras, a faction of the large group of protesters who descended upon the Mission District to oppose the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Donald Trump's decision to deploy the California National Guard and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles — broke into the cafe just before 10 p.m. and graffitied all around its exterior. But unlike tags that had targeted ICE and the police, like the ones that were sprayed all over the McDonald's at 24th and Mission streets, the messaging at the corner of 16th and Mission streets seemed to focus specifically on Yekutiel. The vandals also smashed through a large window to enter the cafe, though it was unclear whether anything was taken. Among graffiti that read 'Free Palestine' and 'Kill Cops,' there were other, more pointed words for Yekutiel, who is Jewish. The cafe owner, who hosts civic and political events at Manny's has been vocal about his 'complicated' feelings about Israel and wish for a cease-fire in Gaza. 'F— Manny,' one of the tags read. Others said 'Die Zio,' an apparent truncating of the word Zionist, and 'The only good settler is a dead 1.' 'It was like a crime scene,' he said, referring to the inside of the restaurant Tuesday morning. 'Glass everywhere, shattered on the floor. And then I came back here in the back in the dark and was just sobbing.' In an interview with the Chronicle in the back of his cafe, where on Monday night the private event had continued on despite the break-in attempt, Yekutiel broke down in sobs. He said he was grateful to Mayor Daniel Lurie, who visited him at the cafe before it opened Tuesday morning. The mayor held his hand and consoled him, Yekutiel said. In a press briefing Tuesday morning, Lurie spoke generally of the vandalism by protesters, but did not specifically reference Manny's. The mayor's office later declined to comment on the vandalism of Manny's. 'Vandalizing local businesses with hateful language, damaging property is unacceptable,' Lurie said in his briefing. 'When that happens, law enforcement will take action.' Lurie characterized Monday night's demonstration as 'significantly calmer' than Sunday's despite being 'notably larger.' During the chaotic standoffs between police and protesters that injured two officers Sunday night, more than 150 people were arrested. All but one were cited and released. Yekutiel said he had not been contacted by Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission District. Fielder's office did not return requests for comment for the Chronicle. What was all more baffling — and frightening — to Yekutiel was that he had advocated for and attended Monday's protest against ICE, he said. Over the seven years Manny's has been open, the cafe has been targeted with anti-Israel graffiti numerous times, including last year on the eve of the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Yekutiel, who hosts civic and political events at his cafe, has been vocal about his 'complicated' feelings about Israel. He has also expressed support for a cease-fire. The vandalism on Monday night, though, was the most extreme the cafe has endured, he said. 'I wish I could sit down with these people and say, 'You got the wrong guy,'' he said. 'But just choosing to attack my business and my windows and say that I should die only affirms the claim, which is true in many ways, that part of this is just a hatred of Jews.' For years, he said, he has empathized with the people who have vandalized his cafe. 'There's a person that you can undo, that you can defame and boycott and attack if you're feeling rage,' he said, explaining why he believed he was being targeted. 'Even though I'm not Israeli. Even though I don't represent Israel. Even though I haven't done anything that, I believe, deserves that rage.' Now, it's just anti-Semitism, he said. Outside the cafe Tuesday morning, two young men crossing the street paused to look at the corner. 'Look, they f— that shit up!' one of them said to the other, as the two laughed and walked on. Inside the cafe, nearly every seat was occupied by people drinking coffee, working on their laptops or discussing the damages throughout the morning. Two San Francisco Police sergeants came by to interview Yekutiel and a local rabbi stopped by for a coffee. Just before 1 p.m., some of the patrons were jolted by the sound of someone from the street screaming expletives into the cafe. The back of the cafe was cordoned off as workers worked on the window that had been broken. Sprinklings of glass glimmered on a velvet armchair. For a few minutes, an upbeat song began playing over the speakers, until Yekutiel asked the baristas to turn it down. They were just trying to lighten the mood, they said. He said the mood didn't need to be light. It wasn't a happy moment, he said, and asked them to turn the music off.

10 killed in Austrian school shooting: A rare event for the country
10 killed in Austrian school shooting: A rare event for the country

Yahoo

time41 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

10 killed in Austrian school shooting: A rare event for the country

10 people, including teenagers, were killed after a shooter opened fire at a high school in Austria on Tuesday. The shooting was one of the worst in the country's history. According to CNN, at first Austrian police said eight people were killed and then the number was raised to nine. Gerhard Karner, the country's interior minister, said that six of the victims were female and three were male. The victims also included children between 14 and 18 years old. Later in the day the Graz Regional Hospital said that a woman who was wounded in the attack died of her injuries, per NBC. There were 12 students also injured in the shooting, some of them seriously. During a press conference following the shooting, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker described Tuesday as a 'dark day in the history of our country.' 'There are no words to express the pain, disbelief and grief felt by the whole of Austria. Our country stands still in this moment of horror,' Stocker added. The country of Austria will be holding a period of mourning over the next three days to pay respect to the victims. A minute of silence will be held on Wednesday and the flag will be flown at half-staff at all public buildings, per The Washington Post. The incident occurred at the Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium Dreierschützengasse school in Graz, Austria's second largest city. Police first responded to reports of 'several' suspected gunshots at the school around 10 a.m. local time. Several vehicles, ambulance, a police helicopter and a special task force were deployed to the scene, per NBC. Over 300 police officers were sent to the scene to ensure an evacuation and cordon off the school. The injured students were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, per The Washington Post. The lone suspect in the shooting was identified as a 21-year-old Austrian male who had previously attended the school but did not graduate. He carried out the killing spree using a rifle and a handgun before fatally shooting himself in a bathroom, per CNN. 'According to the current state of the investigation, the alleged perpetrator committed suicide in a toilet facility,' said Gerald Ortner, director of the police for the state of Styria. Officials did not give a motive for the gunman, but they did share that he acted alone and they believe he obtained the weapons legally. Austria has a low prevalence of gun violence and school shootings are uncommon, per The Washington Post. Not including Tuesday's attack, Austria has had two public mass shootings since 2000, neither of which occurred at a school. The U.S. has had 119 in the same time period. According to The Washington Post, the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government defines a public mass shooting as those that take place 'in a public or populated location' in which at least four people were killed and some victims 'were targeted at random and/or for their symbolic value.' The country's most recent mass shooting was in 2020, when a man killed four people in Vienna, before being fatally shot by police. Credit for the attack was claimed by The Islamic State.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store