Attorney General Dana Nessel defends charges against pro-Palestine protestors

Nessel says she stands behind the evidence against 11 protestors accused of throwing water bottles and grabbing an officer's baton on the University of Michigan's campus last year.

Attorney General Dana Nessel inside the House Appropriations room at the Michigan Capitol following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State. Photo: Samuel Robinson

Attorney General Dana Nessel isn’t backing away from felony charges she’s pursuing against 11 pro-Palestine demonstrators for alleged criminal protest activity on the University of Michigan’s campus last year.

“I’ve heard people say they want the charges dropped, I have not heard people say that there’s not evidence to substantiate the charges,” Nessel told me last week in an interview following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State address.

The charges over the May, 2024 demonstration have been criticized by a prominent civil liberties organization, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, and pro-Palestine advocates across Southeast Michigan.