Salma Hamamy, a U of M student who was among those charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, speaking to protestors in front of the 15th District Court Building in Ann Arbor. Sept. 20, 2024. Photo by Jon King.
A pro-Palestinian coalition of University of Michigan student groups say authorities have weaponized the legal system to quash their protests and have called on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to drop what they say are “politicized” charges.
The TAHRIR coalition, made up of approximately 90 student groups, held a press conference Friday in front of the 15th District Court building in Ann Arbor to protest charges filed earlier this month by Nessel’s office against 11 individuals in connection to protests at the University of Michigan.
One of those charged was Salma Hamamy, president of Students Allied for Freedom & Equality (SAFE), which has been one of the groups leading the protest movement at U of M.
Hamamy has yet to be arraigned but identified herself as being among those charged. According to online court records, she faces a single count of trespassing, a 30-day misdemeanor, for failing to vacate a tent encampment set up on the university’s Diag this spring when university police moved in to clear it on May 21.
Mariam Odeh speaking to pro-Palestinian protestors in front of the 15th District Court Building in Ann Arbor. Sept. 20, 2024. Photo by Jon King.
“The violent tactics sent four people to the hospital with concussions, broken arms, and respiratory distress,” she told the assembled crowd of approximately 100 protestors. “Yet Attorney General Dana Nessel had the audacity to publicly claim that the violence was perpetrated by the protesters and by the encampment.”
Hamamy decried the stated reason given by the university for removing the encampment, which was that it constituted a fire hazard.
“There’s a bitter irony in the fact that the University of Michigan claims concerns about fire safety intent while refusing to divest their endowment dollars that were used to aid in the bombing and burning of people in literally little refugee camps in tents in Rafah. The notion that we were violent is not only a lie, but rather a projection of their own actions,” she said.
The protests have centered on the demand that the university divest itself financially and academically from any connection to the state of Israel, based on its military actions in Gaza which followed the Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack by Hamas militants that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and led to another 240 being taken hostage. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry the number of people killed in Gaza exceeded 41,200 as of Wednesday.
Also charged was grad student Michael Mueller, who faces both a trespassing count, as well as an additional count of resisting or obstructing a police Officer, a 2-year felony.
Michael Mueller, a U of M grad student who was among those charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, speaking to protestors in front of the 15th District Court Building in Ann Arbor. Sept. 20, 2024. Photo by Jon King.
Mueller said as a person of conscience, he has an obligation to oppose what he claims in a genocide perpetrated by Israel on Palestinians in Gaza.
“Unfortunately, this opposition is often falsely conflated with antisemitism,” he said. “As a Jewish student and a member of Jewish Voice For Peace, I reject this framing. In fact, Jewish values demand support for the Palestinian cause. Participants in this movement for divestment at U of M have been members of all faiths, students, faculty, staff, and community members, old and young, all united behind the demand for a university and a government that value Palestinian life.”
At the time of the charges, Nessel said her office took over the investigations because of the various jurisdictions that were involved.
“The offer was made to local law enforcement, county prosecutors, and university officials in the counties of Washtenaw, Ingham, Oakland and Wayne,” stated a press release. “No cases have yet been referred from Ingham, Oakland or Wayne counties. Multiple cases out of Washtenaw County were transferred to the Department of Attorney General for review with support of the county prosecutor [Eli Savit] and University President [Santa Ono].”
However, Denise Heberle, a board member with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Detroit & Michigan Chapter, disputed that rationale.
“The only jurisdiction involved is Washtenaw County,” she told Michigan Advance. “In terms of the encampment, I don’t accept that.”
There were pro-Palestinian protests at some regents’ homes and one of their businesses in other counties, which was part of the attorney general investigation.
Denise Heberle, board member with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Detroit & Michigan Chapter, speaking to pro-Palestinian protestors in Ann Arbor, demanding charges filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel be dropped. Sept. 20, 2024. Photo by Jon King
Heberle said she is puzzled by the behavior of university officials toward the protesters.
“I can’t imagine what the motivation is behind a group that is supposed to be running a public university that talks about the exchange of ideas, that talks about people teaching and learning, and the encampment was filled with libraries and presentations of history and music and art and song,” she said. “Everything that these beautiful people are doing is simply to have the conversation and to make it impossible for the university to continue funding this horror that we are all seeing every day.”
The local chapter of the NLG also issued a formal statement denouncing the charges.
“We are deeply troubled that the Attorney General would pursue charges against individuals advocating for what they believe to be a significant moral cause,” said Sara Habbo, President of the local NLG chapter. “Protest is a fundamental right in our democracy and a vital means of challenging and rectifying injustices. Such unusual interference by the Attorney General in local charging decisions effectively chills speech and dissent through intimidation and selective overcharging.”
Requests for comment were sent to both the university and the AG’s office, but have yet to be returned.
Pro-Palestinian protestors in front of the 15th District Court Building in Ann Arbor, demanding charges filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel be dropped. Sept. 20, 2024. Photo by Jon King
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