ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — Last week, Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 11 pro-Palestine protesters concerned within the University of Michigan encampment on the Diag. On Friday, dozens confirmed up to rally in entrance of the fifteenth District Court in Ann Arbor calling on Nessel to drop the charges.
WXYZ
Two people are dealing with misdemeanor trespassing charges, seven are dealing with felony charges for obstructing a police officer, one is dealing with disturbing the peace and tried ethnic discrimination misdemeanors and one is dealing with two charges of malicious destruction of private property misdemeanors.
All the charges stem from the encampment on the Diag that lasted 30 days final spring to protest the Israel-Hamas battle.
Previous protection: Michigan pro-Palestinian encampment staying regardless of asks from college to depart
Michigan pro-Palestinian encampment staying regardless of asks from college to depart
Twenty-four-year-old former University of Michigan scholar Josiah Walker is dealing with a misdemeanor cost for trespassing and was arraigned simply hours earlier than the rally started.
“I primarily suppose they’re politically motivated and that, you realize, justice is not the precise motivation behind them,” he mentioned relating to the charges.
Salma Hamamy graduated from Michigan final spring. She has household within the Gaza area that has been killed within the battle and felt compelled to lead the encampment final spring. She can also be dealing with a misdemeanor trespassing cost. She was on the encampment day-after-day and was there the second college police broke it up final might.
Group pushes to drop charges against U-M Palestinian protesters
“They are not only trying prevent us from protesting but also punish us for protesting through these charges. It's an unprecedented rate of suppression, especially seeing these charges come from the Michigan state attorney general,” Hamamy mentioned.
Nessel said in a press release that the protesters had a number of warnings and possibilities to depart however didn't comply.
The violence that erupted as soon as campus police arrived to disperse the encampment is what additionally prompted Nessel to cost seven people with felonies.
“I think that it's the police that brought the violence to our encampment that day. They used a lot of aggression and excessive force against us,” Sammie Lewis, who was on the encampment, mentioned.
Watch our earlier protection of when police broke up the encampment on Michigan's campus under:
Police raid pro-Palestinian encampment at University of Michigan Diag; 4 arrested
We reached out to the legal professional normal’s workplace, which mentioned that charges on this case, like all others, are decided by reviewing the admissible proof and making use of the related regulation. We additionally reached out to the University of Michigan however didn't hear again as of Friday.
Those which have been charged are anticipated again in court docket subsequent month for arraignments, possible trigger conferences and to presumably be sentenced.
