By Federal prosecutors have charged eight individuals with ties to the University of Michigan in an alleged conspiracy involving threats, vandalism, and harassment targeting university officials, businesses, and Jewish organizations amid mounting tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
The alleged campaign began in October 2023, shortly after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, and continued through April 2025. Prosecutors say the defendants sought to pressure the university into cutting its ties with Israel through a coordinated series of attacks and threats, according a report by The Detroit News.
According to the indictment, the group used encrypted messaging applications, social media, and overseas collaboration platforms to research potential targets, organize attacks, and publicize their actions. The alleged incidents included shattered windows, spray-painted threats, and glass jars filled with noxious substances thrown into private homes.
Victims were also marked with symbols associated with Hamas, including red inverted triangles and red handprints. Prosecutors say photographs of the vandalism were later circulated online alongside additional threats aimed at university officials, law enforcement officers, businesses, and organizations that support Israel.
“The indictment said that to accomplish the goal, the defendants and unindicted conspirators used encrypted messages, social media, and overseas collaboration platforms to research, target, and attack their victims. Then, they posted pictures of their attacks on social media, along with additional threats and warnings. Their criminal activity included spray painting threats, breaking windows, and throwing glass jars filled with noxious chemicals into family homes. They marked their victims with threatening symbols used by Hamas, including red inverted triangles and red handprints. They used the internet and social media to broadcast their message to ensure their threats and commitment to continuing criminal activity were heard by their victims and others who support Israel.”
The eight defendants are Zainab Aliasgar Hakim, Amatullah Aliasgar Hakim, Paige Elizabeth Feyock, Ahmet Kerem Korkaya, Jonathan Hongru Zou, Alexander Matthew Sepulveda, Mariam Muhammed Odeh, and Colin Hunter Weger.
Odeh, a 24-year-old Dearborn resident, worked for the U.S. Senate campaign of Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed as recently as April, according to campaign finance disclosures and a statement from the campaign reported by The Detroit News.
The records show that Odeh received salary disbursements of $154 on March 3 and $593 on March 13. The El-Sayed campaign initially said Wednesday that Odeh had worked as an hourly employee for two weeks. The campaign issued a correction Thursday.
“Upon discovering an error in reviewing our HR files, we’d like to correct information on her employment for transparency. She was hired in February as an hourly employee and left the campaign on April 15. The campaign issued one missed hourly back payment in May that will appear on our next FEC filing,” El-Sayed spokeswoman Roxie Richner said in a text message.
Odeh appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Patti. Her arraignment is scheduled for July 1. A pretrial services officer told the judge that Odeh reported working full time for approximately four months, from February through April, for a local Senate candidate.
El-Sayed, a former gubernatorial candidate from Ann Arbor, is one of three Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate in the Aug. 4 primary.
The alleged targets included the university president, provost, chief investment officer, members of the Board of Regents, and a university police officer. Businesses and outside organizations were also targeted, including Rolls Royce Solutions America, Maersk, and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
One of the most disturbing allegations involves Feyock and Korkaya, a former medical student. Prosecutors say the two exchanged messages discussing violent actions against one of the alleged victims.
Korkaya allegedly wrote: “I’m gonna be the dirtiest f***ing doctor every / I’m gonna be (V-1)’s doctor /poison her ass slowly.”
Feyock reportedly responded: “we need people following (V-1)/get into that house then burn it down.”
Hakim and Feyock also face witness intimidation charges stemming from an alleged effort to confront a student they believed was cooperating with authorities.
Sepulveda, meanwhile, is accused of destroying evidence ahead of the execution of a search warrant. Prosecutors say he cleared his electronic devices following an incident in which he and Zou allegedly threw jars containing a blue substance and compost through the window of the university provost’s home.
The provost’s residence was among the properties vandalized during the broader campaign. Windows were broken and threatening messages were spray-painted on the property, according to authorities.
Each defendant faces a charge of conspiracy to transmit a threat. A conviction could carry a sentence of up to five years in federal prison.
The case is the latest in a series of controversies raising concerns about security and institutional oversight at the University of Michigan.
In late 2025, federal authorities charged three Chinese visiting scholars connected to a university biology laboratory with allegedly conspiring to smuggle restricted biological materials into the United States.
Earlier that year, Yunqing Jian, a Chinese national affiliated with the university, and an associate were accused of attempting to bring the crop-damaging pathogen Fusarium graminearum into the country. The fungus can devastate grain harvests and produce harmful toxins. Officials said the case raised “the gravest national security concerns” and possible agroterrorism risks.
The federal charges also come as Michigan faces broader concerns involving political and institutional accountability. In May 2026, state Democrats faced criticism following their endorsement convention after allegations emerged of irregularities involving a phone-based remote voting system. Critics, including some within the party, called for audits and reforms, including a return to paper ballots.
The party recently nominated Amir Makled to serve as a regent to the university. Makled, a trial lawyer, defeated incumbent Regent Jordan Acker in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination at Michigan’s state convention over the weekend. The outcome drew criticism because it revealed that the party has embraced support for extremism.
