Michigan A.G. Nessel dismisses charges against Palestine protesters – for now 

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—In a surprising move Monday morning, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel dismissed the felony charges against seven pro-Palestine protesters associated with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the University of Michigan.

This dismissal came moments before Judge Simpson of the Washtenaw County District Court was set to decide whether or not to recuse Nessel from prosecuting the case. The defense filed a motion for Nessel’s recusal on April 24 on the basis of perceived anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias. This perceived bias was cited by Nessel’s office this month, when she recused herself from prosecuting a case against a Hamtramck City Council person earlier last month.

In a statement explaining her decision to dismiss the charges, Nessel noted a “circus-like atmosphere” at the court. During the months of court dates leading up to this week’s hearing, dozens of supporters would pack the courthouse during proceedings, filling the courtroom, spilling out into the hallways, and bringing food and snacks to share in the lobby.

More provocatively, Nessel also cited a letter from the Jewish Community Relations Committee, the outreach wing of the Jewish Federation, which was sent directly to the court and submitted to Judge Simpson.

In the letter, JCRC advocated for the judge to keep Nessel on the case, claiming that if she were recused from the case, it would be on the basis of her religion—Nessel is Jewish—which would be unprecedented. In Nessel’s statement, she claimed the “impropriety” of an outside organization directly communicating with the judge contributed to her dismissing the charges.

According to sources close to the case, the judge told a lawyer on the defense that he was so concerned by the JCRC’s attempt to influence his decision that he was considering granting an evidentiary hearing on the defense’s bias allegation. This would have required Nessel’s office to turn over the requested evidence of her potential bias. Defense attorney Amir Makled told The Guardian that Nessel “didn’t want to open the can of worms that was coming her way.”

Dismissing the charges without prejudice, rather than being recused from prosecuting the case, allows Nessel to re-file the charges any time within the next six years. This refiling could occur in a new court, with new allegations, and against additional people.

Nessel has repeatedly demonstrated her desire to prosecute these cases. She offered to prosecute the cases against protesters after Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit failed to pursue harsh charges in an earlier case. Savit dismissed charges against 36 of 40 protesters arrested for a sit-in at a University of Michigan administrative building in November 2023 and recommended four for diversion programs.

Following this move, the University of Michigan Police sent warrant requests to the attorney general’s office. The fact that the state attorney general chose to prosecute peaceful protesters herself rather than leaving the decision in the hands of local prosecutors has been described by multiple legal observers as “unprecedented,” according to reporting from The Guardian.

Regents at the university have donated more than $33,000 combined to Nessel’s campaign for office. This includes $16,800 from Mark Bernstein and his family’s PAC, and $2,500 from Jordan Acker, who has described pro-Palestine protesters as “foreign-funded” and “violent.”

While Nessel has dropped these seven felony charges for resisting and obstructing arrest—Michigan being the only state in the country without an option for misdemeanor R&O charges on the state level—she is still prosecuting and investigating multiple cases against pro–Palestine demonstrators related to the University of Michigan.

Current charges filed by her office include two misdemeanor cases related to the encampment protests, as well as two more felony resisting and obstructing charges and a misdemeanor charge against three people involved in a die-in protest on U-M’s campus in September, according to sources close to those charged.

Nessel also received international attention last month when she called in the FBI to assist her in investigating “vandalism.” As reported in the People’s World, the FBI and local law enforcement conducted early morning raids on five residences in Wayne and Washtenaw counties, detaining multiple people, including organizers of the Graduate Employees Organization 3550.

This vandalism investigation could relate to incidents last summer, in which the professional offices of multiple Regents, including Acker and Bernstein, were targeted with red paint condemning their support for the genocide in Gaza.

Reached for comment on the dismissal of charges, defendant and Communist Party USA member Avi Tachna-Fram expressed confidence that the dismissed charges will not be re-filed due to the public scrutiny brought to this case.

“I think that what this shows everyone is that wins are possible. It is possible to win against some of the most powerful, richest, most vengeful people in your state or your community.” Tachna-Fram continued, “If it’s possible to win against these charges, it’s possible to win divestment, it’s possible to win policy changes, it’s possible to build a movement to end our part in the genocide against Gaza and the endless wars fought in our name against people globally.”