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ACLU sues University of Michigan over trespass bans against pro-Palestinian protesters

ACLU files lawsuit against University of Michigan bans against pro-Palestinian protesters
ACLU files lawsuit against University of Michigan bans against pro-Palestinian protesters 02:07

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The ACLU says they've filed a lawsuit against the University of Michigan after the school banned several people from its Ann Arbor campus due to their involvement in Pro-Palestinian protests

This lawsuit comes just days after the University suspended "Students Allied for Freedom and Equality" for the next two years, a student organization that's been central in many of the pro-Palestinian protests on campus

The plaintiffs include five people who the lawsuit claims have been banned from campus following their participation in pro-Palestinian protests. They claim the trespass bans are a violation of free speech. 

One of the plaintiffs is a second-year student at Michigan, Jonathan Zhou. The ban was amended, allowing him to attend classes, but in a statement, he said, "I'm still forbidden from participating in protests and student organizing meetings, attending lectures and events, and meeting professors, classmates, and friends in person. I have a constitutional right to be on campus, go about my daily life and to participate in protests against the university. It's absurd that my university is getting in the way of exercising my rights by threatening me with criminal trespass prosecution." 

While the lawsuit describes the trespass bans as "heavy-handed," some Jewish leaders on campus see it as a relief. 

"I think the Jewish students were looking for the university to return the university to status quo, that people sit in class and they learn. That's what they're paying to be here for. They're not interested in being bombarded by people protesting and disrupting their learning. They're here to learn," Rabbi Yitz Pierce, with the Jewish Resource Center, said. 

The lawsuit claims the university is unfairly targeting pro-Palestinian protesters while also claiming that "no other group of protestors have been subjected to similarly broad trespass bans for the same or similar alleged activity." 

The university said they have not been served with a lawsuit yet and cannot comment. 

CBS Detroit reached out to SAFE and has not yet received a response. SAFE also called a meeting for Tuesday night to discuss their response to what they call the University's repression of pro-Palestinian speech and activism. 

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