Civil rights groups are calling on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to drop all remaining charges against pro-Palestinian protesters following her unexpected decision Monday to dismiss felony and misdemeanor counts against seven demonstrators arrested during a May 2024 encampment sweep at the University of Michigan.
The dismissal, announced during a court hearing in Washtenaw County, marked a significant win for the activists and their supporters after months of mounting political pressure and legal challenges. But advocates say the fight is not over.
“While the charges against the seven protestors facing felonies have been dropped, four defendants from the U-M Encampment are still facing charges at the misdemeanor level and three protestors are still being charged at both the felony and misdemeanor level for a ‘die-in’ demonstration on U-M’s campus last fall,” the TAHRIR Coalition student protest group said in a statement. “This unprecedented repression of activists is a baseless attempt to undermine the movement for a free Palestine and to silence free speech.”
Attorney Amir Makled, who recently filed a motion for Nessel to recuse herself from the cases because of her alleged anti-Palestinian bias, said the dismissal shows that advocacy works.
“This was not about trespass, this was not about felony conduct,” Makled said. “We sent a clear message to both Lansing and to Washington, that the people still rule, and that public pressure compels the rule of law to be upheld. This case attempted to criminalize free speech, and today, the state of Michigan agrees.”
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a Muslim civil rights group, also applauded the dismissal but urged Nessel to go further.
“We welcome the dismissal of these excessive and retaliatory felony charges, which never should have been filed in the first place,” said Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR-MI. “But this moment demands more. All charges stemming from this peaceful protest should be dismissed.”
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The felony charges were filed by Nessel’s office in September, bypassing the local prosecutor and prompting accusations of political bias. Critics noted Nessel’s close ties to University of Michigan leaders, including campaign donations from six of the eight regents and a co-chair relationship with Regent Sam Bernstein during her attorney general campaign.
Protesters have also drawn attention to recent raids in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Canton led by Nessel’s office and federal agents, which targeted students and activists tied to the pro-Palestinian movement. Phones, computers, and DNA swabs were confiscated during the searches, but no charges have been filed. The search warrants, signed by a judge in Oak Park, don’t cite probable cause for the search, activists said.
The TAHRIR Coalition said Monday’s dismissal was the result of “sustained pressure and advocacy” and called the case a political defeat for both Nessel and “American Zionism.” In a statement, activist Oliver Kozler, one of the so-called Encampment 11, declared, “We won today, but our fight is not over: so long as the genocide in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine persists, so too shall we.”
Meanwhile, CAIR-MI raised concerns about outside influence on the judicial process, pointing to a letter submitted to the judge by the Jewish Federation of Ann Arbor urging Nessel to remain involved in the case.
“The Jewish Federation of Ann Arbor’s unsolicited letter to the judge in this case is a disturbing example of improper political interference in a criminal prosecution,” said Amy V. Doukoure, CAIR-MI staff attorney. “They have no legal standing or factual connection to this case. Their intervention was clearly intended to influence the outcome of proceedings against students whose only ‘offense’ was to speak out for the rights and dignity of Palestinians. It is an affront to judicial impartiality and an example of how political interests attempt to weaponize the legal system against dissenting voices.”
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Walid said the remaining charges must be dropped.
“These prosecutions appear to have been driven not by law but by a desire to silence students and community members calling for the recognition of Palestinian human rights and accountability from the University of Michigan for its investments in Israeli weapons manufacturers,” Walid said. “The continued prosecution of these individuals is a stain on our state’s commitment to civil liberties and equal justice.”
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This article appears in Dec 26, 1990 – Jan 1, 1991.