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Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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ADMINISTRATION

Michigan Attorney General announces criminal charges against 11 protesters connected to Gaza solidarity encampment All protesters were charged with trespassing while seven were additionally charged with resisting a police officer

AVA CHATLOSH Daily Staff Reporter

The office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) has announced criminal charges against 11 individuals connected to the Gaza solidarity encampment set up on the University of Michigan Diag last spring. According to a Thursday press release from Nessel’s office, most of those charged are University of Michigan students and alumni. Nessel charged two of the 11 with trespassing due to failure to evacuate the encampment, which carries a maximum 30-day sentence. Seven others were charged with trespassing and an additional count of resisting or obstructing a police officer, a felony that can result in up to two years in prison. The office charged the remaining two people for allegedly disturbed the encampment and its surrounding areas on April 25 in two separate incidents. A U-M alum was charged with disturbing the peace for allegedly kicking over Israeli flags and attempted ethnic intimidation, a maximum oneyear misdemeanor. In the other incident, a man allegedly took and broke multiple flags belonging to counter-protesters, for which he was charged with two counts of malicious destruction of personal property, a 93-day misdemeanor. The solidarity encampment remained in the Diag for about a month before the Ann Arbor Police

Meleck Eldahshoury/DAILY

Department and the Division of Public Safety and Security removed it May 21. According to the press release, DPSS officers read a dispersal order at 5:38 a.m. that day and gave students 10 minutes to clear the area. This decision to sweep the encampment was made after the U-M Fire Marshal Andrew Box observed fire hazards at the site during an inspection in

May, including a generator and multiple significantly overloaded electrical devices. Box reported the large volume of tents and makeshift fencing would have prevented a quick escape. The TAHRIR Coalition, a group consisting of more than 90 proPalestine student organizations including Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, said in a

statement following the removal of the encampment that the fire marshal never visited the encampment, and that there were no open flames or overloaded power outlets. In the statement, the coalition also said the group at the encampment received no communication from the offices involved in its removal.

According to the press release, U-M officials met with students present at the encampment 11 times over the course of 20 days to discuss policy violations and the University’s intention to remove the encampment. In a statement released Friday morning, the TAHRIR Coalition condemned the charges and called for them to be dropped due to their

beliefs about police violence at the encampment removal and the recent “Die-in” event on the U-M Diag, as well as Nessel’s previous actions. “Police Violence to suppress dissent has become routine at Michigan – recently, police charged at protesters participating in a “Die In” demonstration on the University of Michigan Diag and tackled individuals to the ground, arresting four, including a minor,” the statement read. “Given Attorney General Dana Nessel’s attack of Detroit congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for criticizing the Biden administration funding of the genocide in Gaza, these unconstitutional charges are an indication of the political and racialized targeting of the pro Palestine divestment movement. In conjunction with AG Nessel’s recent failure to deliver justice for the victims of the Flint Water crisis, this unfounded attack is a clear demonstration of the remarkable ineptitude of the attorney general office, and the criminal justice system as a whole.” Nessel’s department also conducted a review of protests that took place on March 25 outside Hill Auditorium and April 22 outside the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and declined to prosecute any individuals involved. According to the press release, the department is currently investigating protests that occurred at the homes of multiple University regents on May 15.

GOVERNMENT

Tim Walz visits Grand Rapids in first solo campaign stop Walz’s visit centered around garnering support for the Harris-Walz campaign

EILENE KOO

Daily Staff Reporter

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz traveled to Grand Rapids Thursday evening for his first solo visit as Vice President Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick. Hundreds of community members gathered inside the Grand Rapids Public Museum to hear Walz and other Democratic Party members speak about the recent presidential debate and the importance of voting in November. Walz’s trip to Grand Rapids was part of a four-day campaign tour through the swing states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin following the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump. Grand Rapids is located in Kent County, which has shifted from largely red to a battleground district in recent years. This election season, it has become a key focus of both presidential campaigns. On July 20, Trump visited Grand Rapids for his first campaign rally after surviving an assassination attempt, and in August, he also made an appearance in Howell. Robert Dean, former state representative for the 75th District,

gave the opening remarks at Thursday’s rally. In his speech, Dean said the Harris-Walz campaign provides a promising vision for the future of America. “Harris and Tim Walz talk about a new way forward,” Dean said. “When they talk about their plan for a strong democracy, a fair economy and a country where our rights and freedoms are protected, when they lay out a fight or vision for the future, their eyes are looking straight ahead.” Other speakers at the rally included Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, state Rep. Carol Glanville, D-Grand Rapids, and State Sen. Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer commended Harris’ performance at Tuesday’s presidential debate and highlighted Walz’s accomplishments as governor of Minnesota. During his tenure as governor, Walz provided free breakfast and lunch for all students at Minnesota public schools, invested $300 million into public safety measures and signed abortion protections into law. “In Minnesota, he delivered results again and again and again (with) the biggest investment in fixing their damn roads to free school meals for every public school

student, protections for abortion rights, expansion on workers rights and so much more,” Whitmer said. Whitmer said Walz and Harris both exemplify Midwestern values. “Most of all, Tim is a fundamentally good person,” Whitmer said. “He shows up. He works hard. He can laugh at himself. He’s just like us. Both he and Kamala Harris understand our lives because they live lives like ours. They grew up in the middle class, worked hourly jobs just like we did. They care for sick family members, just like we have.” Whitmer said Michigan voters could be the deciding factor in the outcome of the November election and emphasized the relatively small number of votes that delivered Trump’s victory in the state in 2016. “In 2016, Trump won this state by just less than 11,000 votes,” Whitmer said. “He won by 10,704 votes. That’s two votes per precinct. We control the outcome of this election. The world is counting on us. … Our Democratic candidates for the Michigan House are counting on us. Tim Walz and Kamala Harris are counting on us.” Following an introduction from LSA junior Mariah Stewart, Walz came on stage. During his speech, he recapped the presidential debate

and said he sees it as evidence that Harris is fit to win the presidential race. “There was one person on that stage who should be the next President of the United States,” Walz said. “She commanded the room, and I know all of us are incredibly proud of Vice President Harris. But let’s be very clear, none of us were surprised at what happened there. No one has come more experienced in this job than she has, and no one has done more damage than Donald Trump has.” During his comments on the debate, Walz said Trump’s presidential agenda was based on Project 2025, a conservative initiative developed by The Heritage Foundation that lays out policies and plans for a second Trump term. Walz also criticized the price gouging of drugs like insulin, which Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act capped at $35 for Medicare users, and said a Harris presidency would maintain efforts to lower the cost of medicine. “In the richest country on Earth, it is an absolute disgrace that folks have to ration their drugs because they can’t afford them because trust me, Big Pharma is doing just fine,” Walz said. “We need to make sure that folks get their insulin at

Sarah Boeke/DAILY

$35 each and get the drugs that they need.” Walz also reaffirmed the Harris-Walz campaign’s positions on issues including their support for workers’ rights, an increase in manufacturing jobs and the restoration of national protections for abortion. The candidates — who are both gun owners — have also promised to fight for stricter firearm laws. In his speech, Walz noted the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia and the February 2023 shooting at Michigan State University. “I’m a veteran, I’m a hunter,” Walz said. “Kamala Harris is a gun

owner by the way. … We support the Second Amendment, but our first responsibility is keeping our children safe.” Heather Mayle, who attended the event, is an alum of Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minn., where Walz and his wife Gwen taught for two decades. In an interview with The Daily, Mayle said she believes that Walz’s background as an educator connects him to the general public. “He is the perfect person to be a vice president,” Mayle said. “We need real people that understand our real values of education, women’s health care and just being a good neighbor.”

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INDEX

N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 ARTS........................3 MIC.........................6

OPINION................7 S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 SPORTS..................11