Michigan's attorney-general, Dana Nessel, dropped all misdemeanour and felony charges against seven pro-Palestinian campus protesters on Monday, the Michigan Department of the Attorney General announced.
Charges of trespassing and Resisting and/or Obstructing a Police Officer were brought against the seven following their behaviour during the clearing of a pro-Palestine encampment in May 2024.
In her statement, A-G Nessel said she stood behind her choice to issue charges, but that the case had become "a lightning rod of contention," and that she wanted to dismiss it on the basis that she "no longer believe these cases to be a prudent use of my department’s resources."
“Despite months and months of court hearings, the Court has yet to make a determination on whether probable cause was demonstrated that the defendants committed these crimes, and if so, to bind the case over to circuit court for trial, which is the primary obligation of the district court for any felony offense," she said.
The news of the dismissal of charges came just before a judge was about to decide on a motion from the defense to disqualify Nessel's office over alleged bias, according to American media reports.
Defense attorney Amir Makled said his motion to disqualify Nessel derived from an October 2024 motion largely stemmed from an October report in The Guardian which detailed "Nessel’s extensive personal, financial and political connections to university regents calling for the activists to be prosecuted."
“This was a case of selective prosecution and rooted in bias, not in public safety issues,” Makled added. “We’re hoping this sends a message to other institutions locally and nationally that protest is not a crime, and dissent is not disorder.”
Makled's recusal request also alleged that the prosecutions against pro-Palestine students were brought due to bias against Muslims and/or people of Arab descent."
Nessel alluded to the accusations of bias in her statement on Monday, saying that "Baseless and absurd allegations of bias have only furthered this divide."
She accused the defense of bringing the motion for recusal as a diversionary tactic in order to delay the proceedings.
She added that she learned that "a public statement in support of my office from a local non-profit has been directly communicated to the Court," calling the statement "improper."
Her words here relate to a statement issued by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Ann Arbor on Friday in support of Nessel, which alleged that the motion for dismissal of Nessel was due to "[her] perceived bias due to [her] religious faith." Nessel is Jewish.
While Nessel did not name the JCRC in her statement, she suggested that the group's statement sparked her final decision to drop the charges. "These distractions and ongoing delays have created a circus-like atmosphere to these proceedings," she said. "While I stand by my charging decisions, and believe, based on the evidence, a reasonable jury would find the defendants guilty of the crimes alleged, I no longer believe these cases to be a prudent use of my department’s resources, and, as such, I have decided to dismiss the cases.”
JCRC's Eileen Freed told 7ABC that the letter was not intended in any way to reach the court.
The defense case
The incident that the seven protesters were charged over involved an encampment to protest the war in Gaza and the university’s refusal to divest from Israel.
Fire Marshal Andrew Box testified that the tents and other parts of the encampment posed a fire hazard, and officers described the protesters' conduct as "ignoring police commands to move back, throwing tables and chairs in the path of police, and linking arms and refusing to move."
The Detroit Free Press named the protesters as Oliver Kozler, Samantha Lewis, Henry MacKeen-Shapiro, Michael Mueller, Asad Siddiqui, Avi Tachna-Fram, and Rhiannon Willow.
All seven pleaded not guilty to the felony charges.
Samantha Lewis called it a “great day,” according to the DFP.
She also alleged that the possibility of recusal was "going to be so embarrassing for Nessel that she just couldn't bear it."
Amir Makled, who represented Lewis, told DFP that the charges should never have been brought.
"This was not about trespass, this was not about a felony conduct," Makled claimed. "This was the criminalization of free speech, and today, the state of Michigan agrees."
Makled told The Washington Post on April 8 that border agents detained him when returning from his trip and tried to access privileged information on his phone.
Lewis and MacKeen-Shapiro are still facing separate charges for different incidents.
According to DFP, MacKeen-Shapiro appeared in court wearing an ankle monitor, which he was ordered to wear after being charged with a bond violation for an activism incident in March.
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib celebrated the outcome, tweeting, “Good news for our university student communities! Our First Amendment rights should never be criminalized. Speaking up against genocide should be lifted up, not slammed with felony charges. Palestinians deserve safety + dignity.”
Bias allegations
The October 7 Guardian report claimed that Nessel received campaign donations from pro-Israel state politicians, organizations, and university donors.
The report also said that Nessel's office had an unusually high rate of charges against protesters, at about 85% success. This contrasted with the Washtenaw County office, which only charged 10% of arrests.
Nessel’s office, however, disputed the accuracy of the Guardian’s charge rate analysis.
