Justice Department Indicts Eight Pro-Palestinian Activists

The activists were pushing for the University of Michigan to divest from Israel.

The FBI arrested eight “college-aged adults” connected to pro-Palestinian advocacy on the University of Michigan’s campus, on Wednesday morning.

FBI Director Kash Patel alleged that the group of arrestees, aged 21–28, “engaged in a coordinated campaign of violent, criminal acts,” including threatening notes, spray-painting “Intifada” and “Free Palestine” on people’s homes, breaking windows, and “throwing glass jars filled with chemicals while children slept inside.”

The defendants, most of whom studied or worked at the University of Michigan, were indicted by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. They face various charges, including federal counts of conspiracy to transmit threats, witness intimidation, and destruction of property to prevent seizure. The indictment alleges the group crossed the line into criminal activity in order to get the university to divest from Israel. They face between five to 20 years in prison.

A group of protesters coalesced around the courthouse that the eight defendants were taken to on Wednesday afternoon.

This is the most recent crackdown on pro-Palestinian advocacy from the administration.

“I’m sure in 50 years, the [University of Michigan] will be putting statues up to [the protesters] and saying how much they appreciated their courage in retrospect,” Michigan student James Johnson told MLive. “But right now, they’re being very cowardly at the very least.”

The eight charged are:

Ahmet Kerem Korkaya, 28, of Milwaukee

Alexander Matthew Sepulveda, 23, of Chicago

Amatullah Aliasgar Hakim, 21, of Ann Arbor

Colin Hunter Weger, 24, of Ann Arbor

Jonathan Hongru Zou, 22, of Ann Arbor

Mariam Muhammed Odeh, 24, of Dearborn

Paige Elizabeth Feyock, 26, of Ann Arbor

Zainab Aliasgar Hakim, 23, of Canton

Trump Energy Secretary Admits He Straight-Up Lied About Iran

Chris Wright admitted his social media post that sent the markets into a tailspin was never true.

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright admitted to Congress Wednesday that he made a false social media post about the Iran war in March.

While Wright testified before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Democratic Representative Suhas Subramanyam asked him about a post he made in March on X “that the U.S. Navy had successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing through the global markets.”

“Was that true?” Subramanyam asked Wright, who admitted it was not.

“No. That was in error. It was not tweeted by me, but it was by my team that misunderstood something I said, but I take responsibility for it,” Wright said. Subramanyam then asked what he said to his team that was misunderstood.

SUBRAMANYAM: You tweeted in March that the US Navy had successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. Was that true?CHRIS WRIGHT: No. pic.twitter.com/Xd9QVmfNnv— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 10, 2026

SUBRAMANYAM: You tweeted in March that the US Navy had successfully escorted an oil........

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