U.S. Indicts Pro-Palestinian Activists Over Threats and Intimidation at University of Michigan

U.S. federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed an indictment against eight pro-Palestinian activists accused of terrorizing University of Michigan officials in an effort to force the university to sever ties with Israel.

The indictment describes a long series of violent acts intended to intimidate one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. According to the allegations, members of the group, who were students, would go at night to the homes of university officials, as well as to businesses and organizations regarded as supportive of Israel, leaving graffiti and threatening letters.

In some cases, they sealed doors, blocked entrances, shattered windows and threw glass containers filled with acid into homes. Among other things, they placed fake blood-covered bodies on the lawn of a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, and sprayed anti-Israel graffiti on the home of the university president.

"They marked their victims using menacing symbols that have been used by Hamas," the indictment said. "They used the internet and social media to spread their message and ensure that their threats and commitment to continue criminal activity would be heard by their victims and by others who support Israel."

The targets identified by the defendants included the university president, a campus police officer, a Jewish organization in the area and major commercial companies with ties to Israel, such as Rolls-Royce. The charges could lead to long prison sentences.

The federal prosecutor handling the case said the "threats and attempts to terrorize elected officials, businesses and the Jewish federation are anti-American."

The Trump administration is taking a hard line against pro-Palestinian activists, a policy that has included thousands of arrests.