1 week ago
A University of Michigan student is suing nan school, accusing it of violating his law authorities erstwhile it waged a immense undercover surveillance cognition against him successful consequence to his protestation of Israel’s warfare successful Gaza.
The lawsuit, which will be filed connected Thursday in national tribunal by Cair-MI and U-M student Josiah Walker, claims nan assemblage and individual backstage investigators conspired to intimidate, terrorize and retaliate against Walker successful 2024 and 2025.
According to nan suit, nan assemblage and backstage investigators falsified constabulary reports, manipulated constabulary documents, illegally stalked and assaulted Walker, illegally seized his spot and executed “malicious prosecutions” against him. The “targeted and relentless” run caused Walker “psychological trauma”, says nan suit, which was shared successful beforehand pinch nan Guardian.
“He modified his full measurement of life because of this,” Cair-MI Amy Doukoure told nan Guardian. “He was ever successful a heightened authorities of anxiety, and ever hyper-vigilant and alert successful a measurement that nary assemblage student should beryllium erstwhile conscionable going to people aliases work.”
Walker is simply a leader pinch Students Allied For Freedom and Equality (Safe), a group affiliated pinch Student For Justice successful Palestine, and a unpaid pinch nan field Muslim chaplaincy.
The Guardian in June 2025 revealed that U-M had hired dozens of undercover investigators to surveil pro-Palestinian students, trailing them connected and disconnected campus, furtively signaling them and eavesdropping connected their conversations. The investigators sometimes threatened students, and 1 drove a car astatine Walker who had to jump retired of nan way, video Walker captured shows.
In 2 bizarre interactions besides captured connected video, an undercover interrogator who had been trailing Walker faked disabilities, and loudly and falsely accused Walker of attempting to rob him. Three days aft nan Guardian communicative ran, nan assemblage fired a backstage investigation firm and apologized for immoderate of nan investigators’ actions.
The suit alleges that nan defendants violated Walker’s correct to free reside nether nan first amendment. It besides claims his privateness authorities nether nan 4th and 14th amendments were many times violated, including by constabulary “manipulating and exaggerating” reports to summation entree to his Google thrust and email. It claims nary of nan backstage investigators are permitted nether Michigan rule to behaviour undercover surveillance, rendering nan full cognition illegal.
In 2024, nan Michigan lawyer wide Dana Nessel, brought a lawsuit against Walker involving 2 trespassing charges that, nan suit alleges, relied connected a falsified trespassing report. According to nan lawsuit, Walker was falsely imprisoned complete nan trespass allegations successful usurpation of his correct to owed process.
The charges stem from an incident pursuing a May 2024 ambush connected a U-M Gaza encampment successful which Walker participated, erstwhile Walker contacted assemblage constabulary astir retrieving seized belief items, for illustration dream mats.
The suit claims Walker was many times assured by constabulary that he would not look consequences for retrieving nan items. But astatine nan station, a U-M serviceman “abruptly stormed in” and wrote Walker a trespass warning, according to nan suit. The assemblage ignored Walker’s requests for a transcript of nan trespassing report, which nan suit alleges was falsified.
The title besides specifications an incident successful which bodycam footage allegedly reveals officers plotting to apprehension Walker for trespassing astatine a September 2024 field festival, moreover if he was doing thing wrong.
At nan festival, officers tackled, hit and arrested Walker, video shows. They charged Walker pinch resisting apprehension and trespassing.
“[This] demonstrates a deliberate conspiracy to break his law rights, punish him for protected speech, and asseverate authorities powerfulness complete student dissent,” nan suit states.
Walker spent nan nighttime successful region jail, and nan suit alleges nan apprehension represents 1 of respective instances of mendacious imprisonment. Nessel did not record nan resisting charge, and dropped nan trespassing charges aft nan Guardian exposed her connections to U-M activity who encouraged her to prosecute students, and defense attorneys called for a proceeding into imaginable pro-Israel bias successful her investigation.
Nessel’s dismissal “confirmed what had ever been apparent: nan lawsuit lacked ineligible merit, was driven by governmental retaliation, and could not withstand judicial scrutiny”, nan suit states.
The suit is 1 successful a activity of ineligible actions revenge by students astir nan US who allege that their civilian authorities were violated during universities’ crackdown connected field Gaza protests aft 7 October 2023. The University of Maryland and University of California regent person paid damages successful 2 of nan cases, while Columbia University was ordered to reverse punishments.
Walker’s suit besides alleges nan assemblage fabricated accusations to summation entree to his email after, successful 2025, Walker video recorded an interrogator who was tailing him astir Ann Arbor astatine night. The interrogator allegedly claimed Walker had “assaulted” him pinch nan camera flash and damaged his eyes.
The suit says battle and wounded claims were made “to manufacture probable cause” for warrants to entree Walker’s Google account, which contained delicate personal, religious, world and governmental materials, arsenic good arsenic privileged attorney-client information. Walker was not yet charged pinch assault.
The suit contends that U-M has ne'er utilized nan aforesaid strategies against different protestation movements, for illustration those against nan Vietnam War, aliases successful support of reproductive justness aliases Israel. Only those advocating for Palestinian authorities person been surveilled.
In 1 instance, nan suit claims, assemblage camera footage shows U-M constabulary acknowledging pro-Israel protesters were violating nan rule and schoolhouse rules. But constabulary only dispersed and arrested pro-Palestinian counterprotesters, nan suit alleges.
The suit asks for monetary damages and punitive measures for nan assemblage and backstage investigators.
“We want nan assemblage and metropolis shield to cognize they can’t undertake these measures simply because they don’t for illustration nan reside being made,” Doukoure said.
