FBI agents and other law enforcement agencies conducted raids on homes in southeast Michigan on Wednesday morning. Law enforcement executed search warrants obtained by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, according to a statement released by Nessel on her official X account.
Officials said the raids took place at residences in Ann Arbor, Canton and Ypsilanti.
Activist groups claim link to campus protests
Activist groups claim the raids are connected to pro-Palestinian protesters who took part in on-campus protests at the University of Michigan. In a press release, the Tahrir Coalition, a student-led activist group focused on Palestinian causes at the University of Michigan, said FBI agents and police officers showed up at protesters’ homes in unmarked vehicles around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The group says law enforcement confiscated electronics and personal belongings and detained at least six activists, all of whom were later released. No one was arrested.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were not present, according to Nessel.
Attorney general denies connection to protests
The attorney general denies that the raids targeted activists in correlation with their protests on campus.
“These search warrants were not investigative of protest activity on the campus of the University of Michigan nor the Diag encampment. Today’s search warrants are in furtherance of our investigation into multijurisdictional acts of vandalism and destruction of property including those committed against multiple homes, organizations, and businesses in multiple counties around the state,” the statement reads.
Context of protest actions
Several pro-Palestinian protesters have visited the homes of University of Michigan regents in the last year. They demanded the university divest from Israel and defund the police.
As Straight Arrow News reported last year, on May 15, University of Michigan regents found body bags, fake corpses, and bloodied toys on their lawns. Pro-Palestinian student groups claimed responsibility.
Last month, vandals spray-painted and threw an object through the window of the home of the school’s provost, Laurie McCauley. Officers found the phrases “Free Palestine,” “Divest” and “No honor in genocide” painted on the front of the home.
