From a Justice Department press release issued on Wednesday:
In the still hours of the night, individuals wearing masks and hoods are accused of throwing harmful chemicals through the windows of family homes and affixing demand letters to their front doors, as described by Jennifer Runyan, the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge for the Detroit Field Office.
Following Hamas’s terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, the defendants and unnamed co-conspirators carried out a series of coordinated “actions” aimed at threatening leaders at the University of Michigan, law enforcement, and local businesses. They appeared to be motivated by what they viewed as financial support for Israel by the University of Michigan and other victims, and publicly proclaimed that they must escalate, mobilize, and organize to push divestment by any means necessary.
According to the indictment, on October 20, 2023, the defendants publicly posted a list of demands on social media directed at University of Michigan leadership. Among the demands, they urged the University to make a “full and complete divestment” from Israel and from any entities supporting Israel. Unhappy with the University’s response, the conspirators prepared to take action through what they described as “autonomous actions,” which included forcibly entering and occupying University buildings, defacing property, and disrupting campus events. They also posted online threats that included photographs of their supposed autonomous actions. …
The defendants allegedly convened meetings to identify targets for their “autonomous actions.” They used the internet to research personal addresses, photographs, political and social connections, business ownership, and other private details of those targets.
They also discussed means of harming the targets and their families, including poison, bombs, and psychological torture. For example, on May 21, 2024, co-defendant Paige Elizabeth Feyock and then-medical student co-defendant Ahmet Kerem Korkaya agreed to “kill,” “torment,” and “terrorize” their targets and families. Referring to one victim, Korkaya indicated that the victim’s entire family was on his “hit list.” Feyock added that they should “get” the “kids” of two victims. Korkaya, referring to another victim, stated, “I’m going to be the dirtiest doctor ever / I’ll be [the victim’s] doctor / poison her a– slowly.” Feyock concurred, “We need people following [the victim] / enter that house then burn it down.”
As part of the conspiracy, the defendants allegedly traveled under cover of night to the targeted homes and businesses. They damaged and defaced properties with spray-painted messages and symbols, including inverted triangles associated with Hamas’s markings for targets, red handprints linked to past acts tied to Hamas and related conflicts, and phrases such as “INTIFADA” and “DIVEST NOW.” The group also left notes containing additional threats, sealed doors, blocked entryways, shattered windows, and hurled glass jars filled with butyric acid and dye into the homes. They took photographs of the destruction and posted the images online with “official statements” and further warnings and threats like “you cannot hide” and “we only come back stronger.”
Below are photos showing the alleged threats spray-painted on the Jewish Federation Building on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel, as well as on two other businesses.
The indictment also charges Zainab Aliasgar Hakim and Paige Feyock with witness intimidation. In July and August 2024, Hakim and Feyock devised a plan to confront a University of Michigan student whom they believed may have been cooperating with federal authorities. They intended to persuade the student not to provide information about the defendants’ criminal activities.
Hakim warned that the victim could “send us to federal prison.” Feyock explained, “we have to do something about [victim] / [victim] is actually a liability / the fact that [victim] is naming you to [unindicted conspirator] is a major issue.” Feyock told other conspirators that the victim “has to be neutralized” and that she and Hakim would “strip search” the victim “to see if he is wearing a wire / not taking no chances with him.” Hakim and Feyock confronted the victim on August 6, 2024, and afterward, Feyock told another conspirator that the victim “knows not to talk about [the autonomous actions].”
Alexander Matthew Sepulveda is also charged with destruction of property to prevent seizure. According to the indictment, Sepulveda and Jonathan Hongru Zou took part in an “autonomous action” at the home of the University of Michigan’s Provost. Sepulveda and Zou threw two glass jars filled with a blue substance and compost through a window of the Provost’s home. They also spray-painted the home with inverted red triangles and phrases including “Divest” and “Free Palestine.” …
