Attorney General Dana Nessel of Michigan said on Thursday that eleven individuals have been charged in relation to protests that occurred at the University of Michigan.
The accusations were brought on Wednesday in Washtenaw County’s 15th District Court. None of the accused have, according to officials, been charged.
Because they refused to leave a campsite that was established on the university’s Diag earlier this year, nine of the individuals faced trespassing charges.
In connection with the demolition of the campsite, seven of those individuals were also accused of resisting and obstructing a police officer after they allegedly tried to stop or push back officers.
A third individual who is not connected to the university is accused of two charges of malicious destruction of property in connection with a counter protest on the Diag on April 25.
An additional accusation against an alumnus of the university is disrupting the peace and attempting to intimidate an ethnic group.
According to officials, one individual is accused of stealing multiple Israeli flags, shattering two of them, and discarding them in a trash can, while the other alumnus is accused of kicking protestor-owned flags.
“The right to free speech and assembly is fundamental, and my office fully supports every citizen’s right to free speech under the First Amendment,” Nessel stated. “However, violent and criminal behavior, or acts that trample on another’s rights, cannot be tolerated. I hope today’s charges are a reminder to everyone who chooses to assemble, regardless of the cause, that the First Amendment does not provide a cover for illegal activity.”
The U of M Regents’ bylaws and ordinance, police reports, body cam footage, smartphone videos and images, and social media posts were all examined during the investigation that led to the charges.
For the demonstrations outside the Museum of Art on April 22 and during the university’s honors convocation on March 25, officials decided not to press charges against anyone.
The protests outside the residences of Regents members are still being looked into.
A number of demonstrators established a campsite in April, calling on the university to distance itself from Israel in light of the Gaza War.
One month after the camp was evicted by police, according to Nessel, numerous protestors “defied orders from law enforcement to vacate the camp, and physically obstructed the police and pushed against their bodies,” as stated in a press release.
“In this case we charged only those who made an effort to impede the officers clearing the encampment,” Nessel stated. “Resisting or Obstructing is a much more serious offense, and for the seven demonstrators we have charged with that felony, we allege that every one of them physically placed their hands or bodies against police who were conducting their duty to clear the hazardous encampment, or physically obstructed an arrest.”
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Several officials questioned Nessel’s choice to bring the accusations.
Executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), Dawud Walid, stated, “Given the nature of the charges and the politics surrounding the circumstances, we question AG Nessel’s involvement in this case, which would be typically handled by a local prosecutor.”
On X, U.S. Rep Rashida Tlaib stated “The AG failed to deliver justice for the victims of the Flint Water Crisis but has time to bring frivolous charges that only serve to silence those speaking out against a genocidal apartheid regime? This shameful attack on students’ rights will fail. Follow the Constitution.”
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