Eight Indicted in Alleged Vandalism, Threat Campaign Targeting U-M Officials, Jewish Groups
A federal grand jury in Detroit has indicted eight people on charges of conspiring to transmit threats against University of Michigan regents, law enforcement and Jewish organizations in the wake of the Gaza war.
The defendants, most of whom studied or worked at U-M, are accused of carrying out a monthslong campaign of vandalism and intimidation targeting homes, businesses and Jewish organizations with pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel and antisemitic messages, typically involving broken windows and spray paint.
Those charged are Zainab Aliasgar Hakim, Amatullah Aliasgar Hakim, Paige Elizabeth Feyock, Ahmetkerem Korkaya, Jonathan Hongru Zou, Alexander Matthew Sepulveda, Mariam Muhammed Odeh and Colin Hunter Weger. They are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Detroit.
According to an indictment unsealed June 10, the defendants used encrypted messaging apps to conceal their activities and Google Maps to locate targets. The indictment says they held meetings to identify targets for “autonomous actions,” including U-M leaders, businesses and anyone they believed supported Israel.
The charges are the latest legal fallout from protests tied to Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel and Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
Notable incidents included a 2024 student encampment on the Diag; vandalism at Regent Jordan Acker’s law office and home; attacks on homes linked to then-President Santa Ono, Chief Investment Officer Erik Lundberg and Provost Laurie McCauley; and anti-Israel graffiti and property damage.
In April 2025, federal and state authorities searched homes in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Canton as part of an investigation into more than a dozen vandalism cases targeting U-M officials.
An attorney for some student protesters said they were being targeted because of their political activism.
