Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two martyrs reported in the Israeli aggression on Qom, Iran
IRGC: The operation successfully destroyed the pre-determined targets
IRGC: We launched a heavy barrage of Shahed-136 suicide and attack drones, in addition to precision missiles
IRGC: The 18th wave of Operation True Promise 3 was directed at military targets and operational support centers of the occupation army
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Iranian air defenses activated above Tabriz and Zanjan
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Iranian air defenses successfully intercepted Israeli hostile targets above Tehran and Isfahan
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Iranian air defenses activated against Israeli hostile targets above Tehran
Israeli media: An Iranian missile fell on a building in Tel Aviv
Israeli media: The wave of Iranian missiles was directed at central ​​Tel Aviv
IOF reports sirens sounding in central occupied Palestine following the detection of missiles launched from Iran

FBI, police storm homes of pro-Palestine activists in US Michigan

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 24 Apr 2025 09:30
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies raided multiple homes in Michigan, reportedly targeting several student activists connected to Gaza solidarity protests at the University of Michigan.

Listen
  • x
  • FBI agents and Ann Arbor police stand outside the home of a Pro-Palestinian protestor, April 23, 2025 (via Instagram)FBI agents and Ann Arbor Police stand outside the home of a pro-Palestine activist, April 23, 2025 (Instagram)

US law enforcement, including the FBI, stormed several residences in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Canton Township, Michigan, on April 23, targeting student organizers involved in pro-Palestine protests at the University of Michigan.

Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE) stated that agents seized personal belongings, including electronics, during the raids. Four people were taken into custody but were later released.

The TAHRIR Coalition, a student group advocating for divestment from "Israel", reported that during the raid in Ypsilanti, officers initially declined to show warrants. The group also noted they could not verify if the ICE was involved in the operation.

BREAKING: Early this moring in Ypsi, Michigan the FBI/police raided the homes of Univ. of Mich. Pro-palestinian protestors, including a @CommunityMvt Builders member. They refused to show warrants, seized electronics & personal items. Temporarily holding 8 people. Updates to come pic.twitter.com/OvjLvHTyIQ

— Kamau Franklin (@kamaufranklin) April 23, 2025

Crackdown in Michigan

A Detroit FBI spokesperson declined to explain the reason for the warrants but confirmed the case is being handled by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who has not confirmed any link to Palestine activism. However, her office previously filed criminal charges against at least 11 protesters from last fall’s Gaza encampment at the University of Michigan.

Earlier this month, federal immigration agents detained and interrogated attorney Amir Makled, who is representing one of the targeted students.

Makled, who was returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic with his family, was questioned for 90 minutes but refused to hand his phone over to the agents.

Take a burner phone, or keep your phone turned off, when traveling through the U.S. border, recommends attorney Amir Makled.

Makled, who represents pro-Palestine student protesters, had his phone seized by federal agents while traveling. pic.twitter.com/ITpWqPQ2Ub

— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) April 11, 2025

“The purpose of searching my phone doesn’t have anything to do with terrorism, there’s only a chilling effect, and it’s done to be intimidating, in my opinion, for the causes that I was engaging in,” Makled told NPR. “I’m standing up for students. I’m standing up for immigrants and political dissenters. And I think this was a way to try to dissuade me from taking on these types of cases.”

U-M Regents pressure Nessel to charge protesters

The Guardian investigated and revealed that the University of Michigan regents, six out of eight of whom donated over $33,000 to Dana Nessel’s campaigns, pressured her to pursue charges against student protesters. In response, Nessel took the cases from local District Attorney Eli Savit, a very rare move, as such matters are typically handled at the local level.

According to the University of Michigan website, Eli Savit is a lecturer at Michigan Law. After law school, Savit worked for two federal judges, then as an appellate and Supreme Court lawyer. 

“The University of Michigan’s alleged frustration with local prosecutors stems from a November campus sit-in at which Ann Arbor police arrested a group of 40 protesters,” The Guardian investigation explains. “[Savit had] announced in May that his office would dismiss 36 cases and recommend four for diversion programs where they faced a light punishment.”

“That incensed U-M’s pro-"Israel" regents and police department because they wanted swifter, tougher charges, according to sources with knowledge of the process,” it continues. “They then asked Nessel to take the cases and university police sent warrant requests to her office.”

In the context of Trump crackdown

The growing repression in Michigan is part of a broader nationwide crackdown on the pro-Palestine movement under the Trump administration, which has recently revoked hundreds, possibly thousands, of student visas, many belonging to individuals who protested the genocide in Gaza or publicly criticized "Israel".

This week, Senator Ed Markey and Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Jim McGovern (all Democrats from Massachusetts), Troy Carter (Democrat from Louisiana), and Bennie Thompson (Democrat from Mississippi) visited an immigration facility in Louisiana to meet with Tufts doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk and recent Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, both facing deportation over their support for Gaza.

What we saw & heard in Louisiana was harrowing. It was heartbreaking & it is enraging.

Our visit was about accountability, transparency, & affirming that no one in America should have their constitutional rights to free speech & due process ripped away.

Free Rümeysa & Mahmoud. pic.twitter.com/tfezLvGKW0

— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) April 23, 2025

“We can’t stand by while the Trump Administration violates free speech and unlawfully detains people with no due process,” Pressley posted on X.

  • Student Activism
  • Gaza Protesters
  • Dana Nessel
  • Trump
  • University of Michigan
  • Michigan

Most Read

Iranian missiles impact Israeli sites in Tel Aviv in 2nd wave

Iran's missiles impact 'strategic' Israeli site in Tel Aviv

  • Politics
  • 14 Jun 2025
Bin Salman: Islamic world backs Iran in call to Pezeshkian

MBS says Islamic world backs Iran in call with Pezeshkian

  • MENA
  • 15 Jun 2025
Iran launches 9th wave of Op. True Promise 3, destroys IOF air defense

Iran launches 9th wave of Op. True Promise 3, destroys IOF air defense

  • MENA
  • 17 Jun 2025
Rescue team work at the site where a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025 (AP)

Wave 12 of Operation True Promise 3 launched, Sejjil deployed: IRGC

  • Politics
  • 18 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A motorcycle is on fire after an Israeli drone strike targeted it in the southern Lebanese village of Baraachit, June 20, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon lead to casualty, martyr

An Israeli military vehicle before it was targeted in Operation Breaking the Sword in Gaza, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Gaza Resistance pounds invading Israeli forces in joint operations

Israeli occupation forces and emergency teams work next to an unpopulated building after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran, in Haifa, occupied Palestine, Friday, June 20, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran bombs Israeli Interior Ministry in tit-for-tat response

A man is evacuated by an Israeli emergency team after a missile from Iran hits in Haifa, Israel, Friday, June 20, 2025 (AP)
Politics

1,217 injured in 'Israel' from Iran retaliation amid rising tensions

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS