FBI raids homes of Michigan students and workers for Palestine activism

On June 10, early in the morning, FBI agents raided the homes of individuals involved in Palestine solidarity activism at the University of Michigan. As Yarden Katz and Stephen M. Ward report at Mondoweiss, "with help from local and state police departments, including the University of Michigan Police, the raids unfolded simultaneously in Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin…The case is now known as the Michigan Eight. The Justice Department indicted the eight defendants—five of whom are current or former students at the University of Michigan, and one of whom was a University employee—on multiple counts of severe charges, including "Conspiracy to Transmit Threats in Interstate and Foreign Commerce." The defendants, all in their twenties, now potentially face decades in prison." 

In this installment of our ongoing series "Police State University," we speak with Kevin Zheng, a member-organizer and secretary of the Graduate Employees' Organization at the University of Michigan, and Grace Viscito, a restaurant worker and former graduate student at the University of Michigan.

Additional links/info: 

• Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) website, Instagram, Facebook page, and X page

• Legal Fund of Michigan Students for Palestine

• Yarden Katz & Stephen M. Ward, Mondoweiss, "Inside the case against the 'Michigan 8': Palestine activism recast as antisemitic terror"

• Alexa Cheaney, The Michigan Daily, "The Daily breaks down the indictment against eight pro-Palestine activists"

• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "Campus life is unrecognizable in the Trump era: 'There's so many cops everywhere'"

• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, "'The raids happened Wednesday, finals started Thursday': FBI agents raid homes of pro-Palestine students at University of Michigan"

Featured Music: 

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits: 

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor