Law enforcement executes searches at 5 Michigan residences, escalating a 12-month probe into instances of pro-Palestinian graffiti vandalism.
Unleashing the Storm:
A wave of law enforcement actions rocked southeastern Michigan on Wednesday, as part of a yearlong investigation into vandalism involving pro-Palestinian graffiti. The target? Homes of University of Michigan officials and others.
On this fateful day, search warrants, authorized by the Michigan state court, were executed in Ann Arbor, Canton, and Ypsilanti. According to a Thursday statement from the Michigan Department of Attorney General, these weren't your ordinary search warrants. They were part of a deep-dive investigation into at least 12 acts of vandalism and property damage that took place in various Michigan counties between February 2024 and March 2025. The damages are estimated to have cost approximately $100,000.
The individuals whose homes were searched weren't immediately arrested, but some were detained and later released. Local, state, and federal authorities were all involved in the search operations. The Attorney General's office made it clear that these actions weren't investigative of protest activities on the University of Michigan campus nor the Diag encampment; rather, they were an extension of the investigation into multijurisdictional acts of vandalism.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that these vandalized sites displayed nothing more than ordinary graffiti. But that wouldn't be accurate. Each site bore political slogans or messages, with pro-Palestinian messages appearing at most of the sites, as photos show. Several University of Michigan administrators were among the targeted, with homes vandalized in various ways.
Erik Lundberg, the university's chief investment officer, had his home tagged with the words "Divest" and "Free Palestine," while university President Santa Ono's home was adorned with graffiti that included the word "intifada." Jordan Acker, a member of the university's Board of Regents, wasn't left untouched, either. His home was damaged, with a window broken, and the words "Free Palestine" written on his car. His law firm was also defaced with pro-Palestinian language. Laurie McCauley, the provost, also found shattered glass and "No honor in genocide" graffitied on her fence.
At this point, no charges have been filed against any of the individuals whose homes were raided. The Attorney General's office has yet to identify any suspects in the ongoing investigation.
The University of Michigan expressed its disapproval of these criminal acts in the strongest possible terms in a December statement after Acker's home was vandalized. "These acts are abhorrent and, unfortunately, just the latest in a number of incidents where individuals have been harassed because of their work on behalf of the university," the statement read. "This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice, representing two of the individuals whose homes were raided, said most of them are University of Michigan students. When asked about the vandalism at Acker's home, the lawyers denied involvement of their clients.
John Philo, the legal director at the law center, told CNN that the individuals are being targeted for their pro-Palestinian beliefs. "The students that were targeted appear to be those that UM officials believe are most active in on-campus protests - protests that have been loud at times...but which in no way can be characterized as violent or causing significant vandalism," Philo said. "Other than a shared viewpoint concerning Palestine, a real question exists as to why student campus protestors are being targeted or is that the point - because they are expressing that viewpoint on UM's campus?"
The incidents follow months of tensions between the university's administration and pro-Palestinian students who had demanded university leaders divest from Israel amid its war in Gaza. Other instances of vandalism and property damage occurred at the Jewish Federation of Detroit, an officer's home, a country club, a car dealership, an office, and the historic Wilcox House.
The vandalisms were committed in the dead of the night, and in one case, children were asleep during the chaos but were awoken. Windows were smashed in several instances, and in two instances, noxious chemical substances were propelled into homes.
The TAHRIR Coalition, a pro-Palestinian student organization at the University of Michigan, stated that FBI agents, Michigan State Police, and local police officers detained and later released six activists whose homes were searched in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. Personal belongings and electronics were confiscated, according to the organization. At a third residence in Canton, no individuals were detained. At least one of the individuals was required to have a DNA sample taken, according to Philo.
The Graduate Employees' Organization, a union representing graduate workers at the University of Michigan, stated that one of its members was among those detained and released and "executors of the search warrants were reluctant to reveal their warrants or their reason for visiting these activists."
"We strongly condemn the actions taken today and all past and present repression of political activism," the union said in a statement. "We urge University of Michigan administrators, the Regents of the University of Michigan, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to end their campaign against students and stop putting graduate workers in harm's way."
Philo said that the multi-agency response to alleged vandalism was unwarranted. "None of these students have any history of violence, none have prior criminal records, and none have been charged," Philo said. "They are 17-22 year olds and very much college students or recent grads. Why were three or more police agencies at every home? Why were they handcuffed during the searches?"
- The multijurisdictional investigation into vandalism involving pro-Palestinian graffiti, which led to search warrants executed in Ann Arbor, Canton, and Ypsilanti, is not only focusing on acts of vandalism within southeastern Michigan, but also extends to at least 12 instances of such crimes that occurred in various Michigan counties between February 2024 and March 2025.
- The vandalized sites as part of this investigation were not limited to displaying ordinary graffiti, but instead bore political slogans or messages, primarily with pro-Palestinian messages appearing at most of the sites.
- Politics and the general-news sphere have become increasingly interested in the ongoing investigation, with questions raised about the targeting of individuals for their pro-Palestinian beliefs, particularly those who are University of Michigan students.
- The ongoing investigation into the vandalism incidents and the law enforcement actions that resulted from it, which involved local, state, and federal authorities, have been criticized by some, including the Graduate Employees' Organization, a union representing graduate workers at the University of Michigan, as unwarranted, given that none of the individuals targeted have any history of violence or prior criminal records.
