Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment on Wednesday charging eight people affiliated with the University of Michigan with engaging in a threat campaign against administrators to pressure them to cut ties with Israel.
The indictment describes threats against several anonymous victims, including littering shrouded and broken baby dolls across the lawn of one and throwing jars full of "a noxious chemical" into the home of another.
“These alleged threats and attempts to terrorize government officials, businesses, and the Jewish Federation are anti-American,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement announcing the unsealed indictment. ”We will counter intimidation with justice.”
The charges span from October 7, 2023, when a Hamas-led attack on Israel led to a Israel’s prolonged and bloody war on Hamas in Gaza, through May 2024.
Federal prosecutors included allegations the defendants used encrypted messages and social media posts to plan and boast of these and other actions. In one such post, an individual wrote that their actions were to let those who they saw as "contributing to this genocide" in Gaza know that "they are not safe."
Several exchanges included in the 63-page document include exchanges that invoke violence. In one, Paige Feyock, a University student, wrote, “We need people following [Victim 2],” and added, “get into that house then burn it down.”
Ahmet Korkaya, who lived in Wisconsin at the time, added another victim to their plot in his response: “[Victim 4’s] entire family is now on my hit list.”
“Let's get [Victim 4’s] kids bruh,” Feyock replied, “and [Victim 2’s] too.”
Other defendants include Zainab Aliasgar Hakim, Amatullah Aliasgar Hakim, Jonathan Hongru Zou, Alexander Matthew Sepulveda, Mariam Muhammed Odeh, Colin Hunter Weger. Zainab Hakim and Jonathan Zou are plaintiffs in lawsuits alleging discrimination by the University in relation to their activism over Gaza.
The defendants are charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to transmit a threat, a charge that carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. They also face conspiracy to tamper with a witness and destruction of property charges.
After the indictment was unsealed on Wednesday, several civil rights groups expressed concern that the charging documents focus on the defendants' pro-Palestine advocacy and conflate constitutionally protected free speech with criminal activity.
"If lawful participation in a protest movement can later be presented as part of a criminal narrative because of the viewpoint expressed, the chilling effect will not be limited to advocacy concerning Palestine," the Michigan Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement.
The indictment was filed on May 20.
We have reached out to the defendants for comment.
Editor's note: The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.
