The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Michigan state police reportedly raided the homes of several University of Michigan students that have been tied to anti-Israel student protests following a number of incidents of Gaza-inspired vandalism directed at administrators and officials from the University of Michigan. 

Law enforcement executed search warrants in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Canto on Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office, Danny Wimmer, stated. 

“The investigation is related to reported crimes committed in the City of Ann Arbor as well as other jurisdictions,” Mr Wimmer said. 

The raids were first reported by an anti-Israel activist group, the Tahrir Coalition, which claimed in a press release that law enforcement officials were targeting the homes of “pro-Palestinian activisits.” The group wrote that the officers confiscated electronics and other belongings and detained several of the residents before releasing them. 

There were no immigration enforcement personnel present, local news outlet, MLive, reported. 

University of Michigan’s graduate student union shared on X that one of its members had been targeted in the raid. The group described the events as “an alarming escalation by the university and state.” 

The raids come as the University of Michigan has been roiled by several vandalism attacks that appear to be motivated by the war in Gaza. In March, a Michigan provost, Laurie McCauley, was targeted by vandals who spray painted slogans like “Free Palestine,” “Divest,” and “No Honor in Genocide” on the front of her home. The assailants also threw an object into a bedroom window. 

The incident at Ms. McCauley’s home marked the fifth time that administrators at the Ann Arbor school fell victim to anti-Israel vandalism. Regent Jordan Acker, who is Jewish, has had anti-Israel vandals target his home, his car, and even his law office. Michigan’s president, Santa Ono, along with the school’s chief investment officer, Erik Lundberg, were both vandalized on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel.