ANN ARBOR, Mich (WXYZ) — On Wednesday at noon, a few dozen Palestinian peace activists gathered outside the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office in Ann Arbor to demand that all charges be dropped against four protesters who were arrested during Monday's encampment clearout at the Diag.
"We won't stop demanding until these charges are dropped," Detroit-based activist Sammie Lewis said.
Monday just before 6 a.m., University of Michigan police, dressed in riot gear, broke up the Pro-Palestinian encampment at the Diag.
Diag reopens, 4 released from custody after police break up U-M encampment
Sammie Lewis was one of the nearly 60 people living in the encampment that was set up a month ago. The Detroit resident was on night watch when, Sammie says, the police surrounded them and gave only a few minutes' warning.
"How chaotic was that moment?" asked Faraz Javed, 7 News Detroit reporter.
"It did feel scary. They started hitting us with batons. Hitting a lot of us in the chest. I know my throat got hit several times. They were there to be aggressive," said Lewis.
Lewis says the incident also left injuries on her arm and shoulder. And more tests are required to determine the extent of the damages.
"I was thrown to the ground. And one time, I felt I was dragged and that I was being trampled as others were thrown on top of me," said Lewis.
The Diag was cleared out in minutes, with at least three protesters seeking medical attention and four people arrested, with at least one facing felony charges for resisting and obstructing.
"At that moment, what was going through your mind?" asked Javed.
"To defend my camp and stay with my comrades," said Lewis.
Over the past few months, pro-Palestinian encampments at universities across the country have been cleared out with the use of force. But to find out why it happened here, I went to the Department of Public Safety and Security.
"There are allegations of excise use of force, and I would like to talk to the Deputy Chief about that," said Javed to an officer at the University of Michigan Department of Public Safety and Security.
Deputy Chief Melissa Overton did get back to Javed via email, saying that since it is an open investigation, there will be no comments.
However on Tuesday, University of Michigan President Santa Ono issued a letter announcing the end of the encampment, saying that it came after protesters refused to comply with requests to remove the external camp barriers, refrain from overloading power sources, and stop using open flames.
"If that were the reason, it certainly wasn't communicated to us. And I think as far as safety goes, the university certainly didn't improve safety by sending the cops," said Michale Mueller, a graduate student at the University Of Michigan.
Mueller says the key goal of the protest is for the university to stop investing in companies that profit from the war in Gaza.
"Why is this movement important to you?" asked Javed.
"I think it should be important to all of us. Also, as an American Jew, I do feel a responsibility to speak against atrocities that are being done in my name," said Mueller.
The Washtenaw County Prosecutor, Elli Savit, could not comment on the charges as he still hasn't received the case files from the police. Meanwhile, university police say the files will be sent to the prosecutor's office soon but do not have a definite timeline.
