FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday that federal agents and law enforcement partners have arrested seven individuals charged in a 10-count indictment alleging a coordinated campaign of threats, vandalism, and intimidation against University of Michigan leaders and businesses in eastern Michigan.

According to Patel, the defendants, described as college-aged adults, are accused of targeting university officials and other entities over their perceived ties to Israel following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.

Federal prosecutors allege the group engaged in criminal activity from approximately March 2024 through April 2025 in an effort to pressure institutions to sever connections with Israel.

The indictment alleges the suspects vandalized homes and property, spray-painted messages including "Intifada" and "Free Palestine," left threatening notes, broke windows ,and threw chemical-filled glass jars at residences while children were inside.

Prosecutors also allege that some of the most visible acts occurred on Oct. 7, 2024, the first anniversary of the Hamas attack, including vandalism at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit in Bloomfield Township and at the home of the University of Michigan president.

The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate and foreign commerce.

The case emerges amid heightened tensions on U.S. college campuses following the Israel-Hamas war, which began after Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 people in Israel and took hundreds of hostages on Oct. 7, 2023.

The conflict sparked widespread pro-Palestinian protests at universities nationwide, including the University of Michigan, where demonstrators demanded that the school divest from companies linked to Israel.

Federal authorities have increasingly distinguished between protected political protest and alleged criminal conduct.

While demonstrations, advocacy and civil disobedience are generally protected under the First Amendment, prosecutors contend the conduct described in this indictment crossed into criminal acts involving threats, property destruction and targeted intimidation of individuals at their homes.