Pro-Palestinian protesters slam U of M for asking Michigan AG to press charges against students

Rhiannon Willow, a PhD student and research assistant in the Physics Department, speaks at TAHRIR Coalition "Call to Action". July 1, 2024. Photo by Jon King

Updated July 2, 2024 at 11:25 a.m.

A coalition of student groups at the University of Michigan say Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is now looking into possible charges against students involved in pro-Palestinian protests on the Ann Arbor campus, which her office has confirmed for the Michigan Advance .

The TAHRIR Coalition, made up of more than 80 student groups, held a press conference on the grounds of the First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor, where they continued to press their case that the university should divest itself, both financially and academically, from the state of Israel over its ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

“[University President Santa] Ono and the regents are materially supporting horrifying crimes against humanity, and they are doing it in the name of profit,” said Jaredo Eno of the Graduate Employees Organization, one of the coalition members. “The campus community has spoken on this over and over and over and has said time and again, we do not want to profit from mass murder.”

The efforts of the protesters have included a sit-in last November at Ono’s office , which resulted in felony charges being brought against four individuals , and an encampment that was broken up by campus police in May that led to four arrests.

While no charges were filed by Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit’s office in the encampment confrontation, Eno said the university was not deterred in seeking to “repress and silence” them, including asking Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to press charges against protesters.

“We do not know how many people they have asked for charges against or what those charges are, but we have confirmed that U of M’s police department has requested warrants for criminal charges from the state AG’s office against people who are trying to stop the university from funding genocide,” said Eno. “It’s clear that Ono and the regents will use any tool that they can grasp at to silence those who refuse to be complicit in this. This is shameful, and this is dangerous behavior from our supposed leaders.”

Danny Wimmer, a spokesperson for the AG’s Office, confirmed that they are looking into the activities of students in Ann Arbor and elsewhere.

“Our department is reviewing a number of cases involving protest activity around the University of Michigan,” Wimmer told the Advance . “As has been reported in the media, protesters have engaged in similar activities in multiple southeast Michigan counties and prosecutorial venues, and our office is uniquely situated to review multijurisdictional cases in their totality.”

Protesters actions have also included coalition members appearing outside the homes of U of M’s Board of Regents , including Chair Sarah Hubbard and Regent Jordan Acker.

Acker’s office was also the target of vandalism in early June , although the coalition did not take credit for it and no suspects in that case have been identified.

Rhiannon Willow, a PhD student and research assistant in the physics department, was one of the students arrested during the clearing of the encampment, saying officers had “slammed my forehead and chin forcefully against the ground, which caused a long lasting and extremely debilitating concussion as well as injuries to my neck and jaw, which have still not fully healed.”

While no charges were filed against Willow, she was banned from campus for a year, which she says will complicate efforts at finishing her PhD dissertation. However, Willow told the Advance that she too is now concerned about state-level charges.

“I believe what’s happening is that, knowing that the Eli Savit’s office declined those charges, I think that’s why they’re going to the AG’s office,” she said. “They’re trying to make it harder for us to keep going, and it seems that the campus bans are unfortunately pretty effective because now so many of us literally can’t set foot on campus or we’ll get arrested immediately.”

Also speaking was Simrun Bose, who graduated in May, but says she was among more than two dozen students notified in mid-May that the university was pursuing disciplinary action against them for participating in either the Nov.17 sit-in.

Bose said the university “flagrantly violated their own procedures” when she alleges they forced the Office of Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR) to start disciplinary proceedings without a formal complaint having been received, and that when one was finally submitted, it was weeks after the six-month deadline.

“Weirdest of all, the university representative who submitted the complaint was not a student, staff, or faculty member, once again violating OSCR’s own procedural guidelines,” said Bose. “Instead, the complainant was a California-based consultant who does not seem to have any knowledge of the events of Nov. 17. Hiring this consultant to do the regent’s dirty work is a cowardly move to avoid responsibility, and possibly is in violation of federal privacy laws.”

The coalition contends the consultant, Omar E. Torres of Grand River Solutions , was not a student, faculty, or staff member, violating the university’s own policy about who can file a formal complaint. However, they allege only after the fact was he then added to the faculty. An online check shows a listing for Omar Estrada Torres in the university’s human resources department.

A message was also sent to Torres for comment that has not been returned.

However, when asked for comment, University of Michigan spokesperson Colleen Mastony sent the following response:

“On Friday, Nov. 17, individuals forcibly accessed the locked Alexander G. Ruthven Building at the University of Michigan, causing damage and requiring a response from law enforcement.  By the evening’s end, two police officers were injured and 40 people were arrested for trespassing after multiple warnings to leave the premises. Later, an additional 9 individuals were identified and submitted to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office for review. This includes 42 students, 5 alumni, one staff member and one person whose affiliation with the university is unknown,” said Mastony. “On May 16, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office announced it authorized criminal charges against four individuals involved in the Nov. 17 incident. Charges include attempting to resist and obstruct, resisting and obstructing, and attempting to disarm a police officer. The four people charged are U-M alumni.”

Mastony added that those students who were arrested for trespassing that day are now part of the Office of Student Conflict Resolution accountability process.

“These students are being afforded appropriate due process protections, including but not limited to notice of the allegations against them, the opportunity to be heard, and the right to an appeal. The university has not deprived students of these rights,” said Mastony, who confirmed that U of M has engaged Grand River Solutions, to assist in the student accountability process, and that a staffer of that firm is now an employee of the university and will represent U of M in bringing the cases to resolution.

Mastony also pointed to the university’s Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities , which states that while complaints should be submitted to a resolution coordinator, in writing, within six months after the alleged incident, a resolution coordinator may waive the six-month limitation. Mastony says that is what happened in this case.

“The university had provided sufficient information to the resolution coordinator to substantiate allegations of a policy violation within six months of the incident. Students were made aware of allegations in letters sent May 15 and the written complaint was finalized on June 3,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Bose says OSCR is forcing students to either “accept responsibility” or be subject to a formal hearing.

“I haven’t made my decision yet,” Bose said. “I have a lot of questions about how this consultant even got this information in the first place that I would hope to be answered before I’m able to make a decision.”

Meanwhile, Eno urged the community to show their support for the coalition’s efforts and keep up the pressure on the university to change its policies.

“We cannot endure continued support for this genocide,” he said. “So, we will keep fighting for divestment, and we will keep fighting to keep each other safe, because as you’ve heard from folks, that is exactly the type of world that we are trying to build and nurture through this coalition and its work. So, we’ll keep fighting.”

This story has been updated to include a response from the University of Michigan.

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