A group of local attorneys is offering pro bono representation for protesters facing criminal charges for their involvement in pro-Palestine protests at the University of Michigan last spring. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed the charges against 11 demonstrators. The move has angered some of her supporters. 

Last month, she was met with boos at the Michigan Democratic Party Convention in Detroit as people chanted, “Drop the charges.” 

Nessel’s office has not responded to WDET’s invitation to discuss the matter. 

In a press release outlining the case and charges, Nessel’s office said, “several demonstrators defied orders from law enforcement to vacate the camp, and physically obstructed the police and pushed against their bodies.”

Critics say the charges are an attack on free speech and reflect a double standard, given the number of protests at the University of Michigan that have not led to the prosecution of protesters. 

Amir Makled, one of the attorneys representing the University of Michigan protesters pro bono, says they were targeted for their messages centered on divestment. The protesters want the University of Michigan to withdraw funding it provides to companies linked with Israel. The divestment movement is aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine. 

Makled sat down with The Metro’s co-host Robyn Vincent to discuss the latest developments in the protesters’ cases and the broader attacks on free speech in the U.S., including the arrest and detainment of Mahmoud Khalil. The Columbia graduate student is a permanent legal resident, yet he was arrested and detained without due process. The Trump administration claims he has ties to Hamas but has failed to provide evidence of this. 

Makled joined the show days after Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas, launching deadly air strikes that killed hundreds of people and injured hundreds more.  

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