Arvin Roberts:Charges filed months after a pro-Palestinian camp was cleared at University of Michigan

2025-05-05 23:49:35source:Will Sage Astorcategory:reviews

ANN ARBOR,Arvin Roberts Mich. (AP) — Authorities months later have filed charges against nine people who are accused of trespassing or resisting police during the May break-up of a pro-Palestinian camp at the University of Michigan.

“The First Amendment does not provide a cover for illegal activity,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday, a day after charges were filed in Washtenaw County.

The camp on the Diag, known for decades as a site for campus protests, was cleared by police on May 21 after a month. Video posted online showed police using what appeared to be an irritant to spray people, who were forced to retreat.

The university said the camp had become a threat to safety, with overloaded power sources and open flames.

Nessel said two people were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor, and seven more people were charged with trespassing as well as resisting police, a felony.

Protesters have demanded that the school’s endowment stop investing in companies with ties to Israel. But the university insists it has no direct investments and less than $15 million placed with funds that might include companies in Israel. That’s less than 0.1% of the total endowment.

Separately, Nessel said state prosecutors charged two people for alleged acts during a counter-demonstration on April 25, a few days after the camp was created.

Nessel said authorities still were investigating spring protests at the homes of elected members of the university’s governing board.

More:reviews

Recommend

Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst

NEW YORK — What exactly constitutes a dynasty in professional sports? Steve Cohen helped define it t

Country singer-songwriter Toby Keith, dies at 62

Toby Keith, the singer-songwriter behind the 1993 country hit "Should've Been a Cowboy," one of his

2 women found dead on same road within days in Indianapolis were killed in the same manner, police say

Authorities are investigating a pair of similar murders in Indianapolis that happened within days of