(CBS DETROIT) – Michigan Attorney General Dana filed charges against 11 people last week after a camp breakup at the University of Michigan. Those involved want the state’s top prosecutor to know that this will not stop their fight.
“It felt pretty brutal and burning. It was an attempt to stop our movement,” said Sammie Lewis.
Lewis and six others now face charges of trespassing and resisting or obstructing a police officer.
“These are false allegations that this is a repressive tactic to suppress the Palestinian student movement,” said Salama Hamamy, a former student at the University of Michigan.
In April, students and sympathizers came an encampment set up on the Michigan campuss. Nessel says fire chiefs pointed out several safety concerns in May, which prompted the university to evacuate the area.
According to the attorney general’s office, authorities gave the students the opportunity to remove themselves, but those orders fell on deaf ears.
“We have the right to protest, and we will exercise that right. It is our First Amendment right,” Lewis said.
Some are accused of pushing back officers as they entered the camp. Some of those tense moments resulted in authorities using pepper spray.
With legal proceedings looming, several legal organizations have stepped in to represent you.
“I am personally appalled by the extent to which the university punishes students for legal activities,” said Denise Heberle of the National Lawyers Guild, Detroit and Michigan chapter.
Seven of them are charged with trespassing and resistance, while four others are charged with violations of the domestic peace law.
Hamamy is facing the lesser charge, and she says that now that the attorney general is involved, it will only bring together pro-Palestinian supporters.
“History will exonerate us, not you. It is very clear that you are fighting against justice; you do not adhere to the standards of justice or morality,” Hamamy said.
According to Nessel’s office, “all students should know that disobeying lawful commands of police is a crime, whether on or off campus, at a permitted demonstration or in a prohibited encampment. This is especially true if you use physical force to resist a police response.”
“The students are not the source of the violence; it is the university and their police department,” Heberle said.
As the lawsuit continues, Herberle claims that current students involved could be expelled from the university.
“They risk everything and are not taken seriously by the people who have the power to do anything about it,” she said.
Terell Bailey
