FBI, Police Storm Pro-Palestine Activists Homes in US Michigan

By Staff, Agencies

US law enforcement, including the FBI, stormed several residences in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Canton Township, Michigan on April 23, targeting student organizers involved in pro-Palestine protests at the University of Michigan.

Students Allied for Freedom and Equality [SAFE] stated that agents seized personal belongings, including electronics, during the raids. Four people were taken into custody but were later released.

The TAHRIR Coalition, a student group advocating for divestment from "Israel", reported that during the raid in Ypsilanti, officers initially declined to show warrants. The group also noted they could not verify if the ICE was involved in the operation.

A Detroit FBI spokesperson declined to explain the reason for the warrants but confirmed the case is being handled by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who has not confirmed any link to Palestine activism. However, her office previously filed criminal charges against at least 11 protesters from last fall’s Gaza encampment at the University of Michigan.

The Guardian investigated and revealed that the University of Michigan regents, six out of eight of whom donated over $33,000 to Dana Nessel’s campaigns, pressured her to pursue charges against student protesters. In response, Nessel took the cases from local District Attorney Eli Savit, a very rare move, as such matters are typically handled at the local level.

According to the University of Michigan website, Eli Savit is a lecturer at Michigan Law. After law school, Savit worked for two federal judges, then as an appellate and Supreme Court lawyer.

“The University of Michigan’s alleged frustration with local prosecutors stems from a November campus sit-in at which Ann Arbor police arrested a group of 40 protesters,” The Guardian investigation explains. “[Savit had] announced in May that his office would dismiss 36 cases and recommend four for diversion programs where they faced a light punishment.”

“That incensed U-M’s pro-‘Israel’ regents and police department because they wanted swifter, tougher charges, according to sources with knowledge of the process,” it continues. “They then asked Nessel to take the cases and university police sent warrant requests to her office.”

The growing repression in Michigan is part of a broader nationwide crackdown on the pro-Palestine movement under the Trump administration, which has recently revoked hundreds, possibly thousands, of student visas, many belonging to individuals who protested the genocide in Gaza or publicly criticized "Israel".

“We can’t stand by while the Trump Administration violates free speech and unlawfully detains people with no due process,” Representative Ayanna Pressley posted on X.