DOJ indicts 8 pro-Palestinian activists over alleged threats tied to U-M divestment push

A group of pro-Palestinian activists associated with the University of Michigan have been indicted for allegedly transmitting threats to school leaders, law enforcement officials and businesses in what the U.S. Department of Justice called a coordinated effort to convince the university to divest from Israel.

The 63-page grand jury indictment filed last month in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan was unsealed Wednesday morning by federal prosecutors following reports of a raid in Washtenaw County’s city of Ypsilanti.

The alleged conspirators named in the indictment are Paige Feyock, Amatullah Hakim, Zainab Hakim, Ahmet Korkaya, Miriam Odeh, Alexander Sepulveda, Colin Weger and Jonathan Zou.

Prosecutors allege that the defendants and unindicted co-conspirators used encrypted messages, social media and collaboration with partners overseas to research, target and attack alleged victims, and then later posted about it on social media. The social media posts, prosecutors said, were meant as warnings.

“Their criminal activity included spray painting threats, breaking windows, and throwing glass jars filled with noxious chemicals into family homes,” the indictment reads. “They marked their victims with threatening symbols used by Hamas, including red inverted triangles and red handprints. They used the internet and social media to broadcast their message to ensure their threats and commitment to continuing criminal activity were heard by their victims and others who support Israel.”

The indictment notes that they were motivated by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the ensuing war between the two in the Gaza Palestinian territory. Israel has since been accused of fomenting a genocide with its response to the attack, with both Amnesty International and a United Nations independent commission reaching that conclusion.

In addition to the unsealed indictment, FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday morning announced on social media that seven individuals were arrested in relation to the indictment.

Early this morning, @FBI and partners arrested 7 individuals on a 10 count indictment for allegedly targeting University of Michigan leaders and businesses in the Eastern Michigan region with violent threats and attacks.

The indictment alleges that after the October 7, 2023…

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) June 10, 2026

U-M Regent Sarah Hubbard, who was a victim of the alleged vandalism, shared Patel’s social media announcement on X.

“I’m very appreciative of the tireless work done by various levels of law enforcement on the University of Michigan campus, in Michigan and across the United States to bring this matter forward,” Hubbard said.

The Jewish Federation of Detroit, which was also alleged to be vandalized by the group, issued a statement on Wednesday applauding federal, state and local law enforcement for taking action.

“The indictment details a deliberate campaign of intimidation and terror: attacks on private homes, threats to ‘get’ the ‘kids’ of victims, witness intimidation, and the targeting of Jewish institutions, including our own,” the federation said. “Many of the alleged threats directly reference the Hamas-led terror attack on October 7, 2023. We are grateful to law enforcement for pursuing this investigation with the seriousness it demands, and we look forward to seeing justice served, sending a clear message that hate, intimidation and antisemitic violence have no place in our community or in our country.”

Multiple phone calls, text messages and emails seeking comment from U-M’s communications office, its chief investment officer Erik Lundberg, U-M Regents Jordan Acker were not returned at the time of publication.

An email and text message seeking comment from a member of the pro-Palestine student-led TAHRIR Coalition, which has been at the forefront of Palestinian student action at the university, were also not returned at the time of publication.

This story will be updated with responses once they are received.

College and university campuses across the nation saw student activism erupt on both sides of the conflict, with pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators coming into conflict. The same was true at U-M. Students built a pro-Palestinian activist encampment in the university’s Diag area in 2024, which was eventually raided by U-M Public Safety. Several of those students faced disciplinary proceedings while some were charged in Washtenaw Circuit Court. Those charges were later dropped.

The indictment unsealed Wednesday, however, alleges the defendants went further and acted in an allegedly criminal manner as they coordinated threats against those associated with the university — again with the aim of forcing U-M to financially and politically divest from Israel.

That included holding seminars encouraging action and using social media that was at times associated with Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, which is also the university’s chapter of the Justice in Palestine group, and the TAHRIR Coalition, a group of pro-Palestinian student activists.

The indictment and federal prosecutors assert that the defendants “aspired to achieve the acclaim of the 1960s domestic terrorist organization ‘Weather Underground,’” and that it held various community actions at U-M leading up to and involving the 2024 encampment.

After the university shut the encampment down, prosecutors allege that Zainab Hakim, Amatullah Hakim, Feyock, Korkaya, Zou, Sepulveda, Odeh and Weger held meetings focused on individuals instead of public spaces, allegedly targeting U-M and business leaders who they deemed supportive — directly or indirectly — of Israel.

Not only did the defendants collect information and do research on these individuals, the federal government alleges, but they also performed surveillance on their targets and counter-surveillance of law enforcement. The indictment alleges that the group also discussed methods to harm their targets, including “poisons, bombs, and psychological torture.”

One excerpt of messages between Korkaya and Feyock that was included in the indictment described discussions of driving vehicles into a home, a victim’s whole family being on their “hit list” and how Korkaya, a medical student at the time, is alleged to have pledged to be “the dirtiest f****** doctor ever, I’m gonna be (the victim’s) doctor /poison her ass slowly.”

The indictment describes the group’s alleged targets as the university’s president, its chief investment officer, its provost, members of the Board of Regents and their businesses; a U-M police officer; Rolls Royce Solutions America, Inc.; Maersk, Inc.; and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.

“As part of the conspiracy, the defendants and unindicted conspirators traveled at night to the targeted homes and businesses,” the indictment reads. “They damaged and defaced homes and businesses with spray painted messages, threats, and symbols, including inverted triangles, red handprints, and phrases such as ‘INTIFADA’ and ‘DIVEST NOW.’ The defendants and unindicted conspirators also left demand notes containing additional threats, caulked doors shut, bike-locked entryway, broke windows, and threw glass jars filled with butyric acid and dye into the targeted homes.”

Prosecutors allege that conspirators took photographs of the destruction and posted them online with “official statements” from the group and additional warnings.

Examples noted in the indictment include:

• A staged “die in” at U-M Regent Sarah Hubbard’s home, where activists wrapped up sheets covered in red paint to resemble dead bodies. Prosecutors allege that Amatullah Hakim and Feyock were involved.
• A vandalism attack at the law offices of Goodman Acker, which is the law firm operated by U-M Regent Jordan Acker, where activists damaged the offices with red paint splatter, red hand prints and “FREE PALESTINE” and other threatening messages spray-painted on the glass entryway. Zainab Hakim, Amatullah Hakim, Feyock and Sepulveda were alleged to have been involved in this incident.
• A vandalism attack against the home of U-M Chief Investment Officer Erik Lundberg with the same types of alleged vandalism committed at Hubbard’s and Acker’s property. Zainab Hakim, Amatullah Hakim, Feyock, Korkaya and Zou were alleged to have participated in this instance.
• Another vandalism attack on the home of former U-M President Santa Ono in a similar manner to the alleged vandalism against Hubbard, Acker and Lundberg. Zainab Hakim, Amatullah Hakim, Feyock, Korkaya and Zou were alleged to have participated.
• A vandalism attack on a Rolls Royce building, which included the padlocking of doors, spray-painting red “bloody” handprints and inverted red triangles on the building — a symbol of Palestinian resistance — and also a “FREE PALESTINE” on the sidewalk. Zainab Hakim, Amatullah Hakim, Feyock, Korkaya, Odeh and Weger are all alleged to have been involved.
• A vandalism attack on the Maersk Shipping Company, which was similar to other acts of vandalism allegedly committed by the group. Zainab Hakim, Amatullah Hakim and Weger are alleged to have participated.
• An act of vandalism against the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. This alleged vandalism involved similar actions as the other alleged attacks but also included threats like “F*** Israel” and “INTIFADA.” Zainab Hakim, Amatullah Hakim, Feyock, Korkaya and Zou were alleged to have participated in this instance. 

Aside from Patel’s announcement, Michigan news media reported Wednesday morning that a Washtenaw County home was raided by the FBI, which was confirmed for the Advance by a spokesperson for the Detroit field office.

A news release from the TAHRIR Coalition claimed it was in relation to its activism.

“This morning, the FBI executed arrest warrants at several locations across several states targeting pro-Palestine activism in southeast Michigan,” the coalition said in an Instagram post. “The situation is evolving and additional asks will roll out.”

The group held an impromptu rally at noon outside the federal courthouse in Detroit. 

Jordan Hall, the public affairs officer for the FBI field office in Detroit, told Michigan Advance that members of the FBI in Michigan were present to conduct law enforcement activities in Ypsilanti on Wednesday morning.

Melissa Overton, head of U-M Public Safety, confirmed U-M police were also involved in the Wednesday morning raid.