Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 11 people involved in protests on the University of Michigan’s campus in April and May for violations including trespassing, disturbing the peace and malicious destruction of personal property, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office.

The press release said the department charged mostly students and alumni related to the encampment on the Diag in April and May, using police reports and body cam footage, Division of Public Safety and Security dispersal order, U of M regents’ bylaws, fire marshal safety recommendations and more.

The press release said U of M’s fire marshal visited the encampment and said he observed “several specific fire and safety hazards posed by the encampment, including the presence of a generator and multiple significantly overloaded electrical devices. The risk was compounded by the many densely populated tents onsite within an improvised perimeter fence of rope, metal fence posts and chicken wire that would have inhibited any individual’s quick escape.”

A post by U of M’s pro-Palestine Students Allied for Freedom and Equality on May 22 said the fire marshal didn’t come to the encampment.

Dana Nessel

Nessel charged two demonstrators with trespassing “for failing to vacate the encampment after ample time following clear lawful orders to do so and when the police action to clear the Diag was obviously underway,” the press release read.

Seven protesters were charged with trespassing and resisting or obstructing a police order, a maximum two-year felony.

“While many in the camp initially refused the lawful order to vacate, or impeded the police action to some degree, criminal resisting or obstructing charges have been filed only against demonstrators who are alleged to have attempted to halt or push back the police by making direct contact with the officers’ bodies or physically obstruct an arrest,” the press release read.

One alumnus and one person with no known U of M affiliation were charged for April 25 counter-protest incidents involving damaging other protesters’ flags. One person was charged for disturbing the peace and attempted ethnic intimidation, while the other was charged with malicious destruction of personal property.

Nessel filed the cases in the 15th District Court in Washtenaw County on Wednesday. None of the defendants have yet been arraigned. 

Rights groups respond to Nessel’s charges against pro-Palestinian protesters, question her involvement in the case

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), questioned Nessel’s involvement in trespassing and other charges against pro-Palestinian protesters who participated in an encampment at the University of Michigan.

Though Nessel purports that she “offered to review” this matter from local authorities due to its “multi-jurisdictional nature”, all of the charges related to the dismantling of the encampment in a public square on the university’s campus which is in Washtenaw County, not multiple municipalities and counties, CAIR’s statement read.

“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,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.

Walid also noted that Muslim students at the University of Michigan have expressed concerns that they and peaceful pro-Palestinian allies on campus are subjected to disparate treatment by the university administration and law enforcement.  He said their concerns include that no such charges came against students who set 17 intentional fires and committed property damage earlier this year after the University of Michigan won the football national championship.

The Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) offered pro bono legal services to defend the students who were charged.

“Our team of dedicated attorneys is prepared to stand with them and ensure their rights are protected” the ACRL posted on its Instagram page.

“This is a crucial time to demonstrate solidarity and uphold the fundamental rights of our community” the statement read and left a number for accused students to call for help: 313-633-0231

The ACLU of Michigan released the following statement in response to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issuing charges against protesters for various alleged actions taken in April and May on the University of Michigan campus:

“We were disheartened to see the Michigan Office of the Attorney General (MIOAG) bring charges against a number of university protesters. We are especially concerned that the highest law enforcement office in the state brought misdemeanor trespassing charges against two individuals.

“The right to protest peacefully is a cornerstone of our nation’s democracy. Many of the charges by the MIOAG broadcast an alarming signal to students who engage in protest on campuses, as well as those who participate in acts of civil disobedience, which are not uncommon in a protest environment. While civil disobedience by its nature assumes that there will be consequences, the actions by the state Attorney General are an unnecessary escalation, taking those consequences outside of the university and even outside of the local elected prosecutors’ jurisdiction to the state. And while the press release issued by the MIOAG indicates that the cases were initially taken due to their multijurisdictional nature, none of the charges issued yesterday implicated more than a single jurisdiction (Washtenaw County).

“The charges by the MIOAG represent a pattern of excessive response by law enforcement to the campus protests. As we noted when the campus encampment at the University of Michigan was dismantled in May, the use of militarized tactics by the police, including chemical munitions, was grossly disproportionate to what had been a peaceful protest.” The statement read.

The statement concluded that “it is in these moments where we are most challenged as a state of diverse citizens that we look to our elected leaders to represent the state as a whole, to build bridges for civil discourse, and to open opportunities that emphasize the strength of our state’s diversity of thought, lived experience, and perspective. When our elected leaders, in this case, the office of our state Attorney General, use the formidable power of their office to close a door rather than open one, it serves to escalate the tensions that already exist.”

The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) joined other civil rights and human rights community in questioning the “motives of AG Nessel in using the awesome power of the state to go after citizens exercising their freedom of speech and right to protest.”

“AG is using her prosecutorial discretion to upcharge the students. AG Nessel stepping into a local policing and academic issue raises questions about the motivations and agenda of AG Nessel.

We take issue with the way AG Nessel has handled this matter. These protesters are not criminals threatening the State of Michigan and its people. AG Nessel has tarnished these protesters’ reputation by alleging they are criminals pursued by the state. Even complete exoneration does not undo the damage.

AHRC calls upon AG Nessel to re-consider her decision and rescind these charges against the students. Equally so, AHRC calls upon all related municipalities and academic institutions to be tolerant of dissent even when it causes inconvenience to some.”