The ACLU and Amnesty International USA accuse the University of Michigan of suppressing pro-Palestinian student speech in a new report examining suppression at dozens of campuses nationwide.

The report, released Wednesday, Sept. 23, alleges that U-M and dozens of other universities painted anti-Israel protests as antisemitism to justify cracking down on demonstrators. The investigation, titled "Student Speech Under Attack," covered 80 campuses in 28 states and the District of Columbia over two years, according to an ACLU press release.

U-M was singled out alongside Columbia University, UCLA, City College of New York, Tulane University and the University of Texas at Austin for in-depth scrutiny, The Detroit News reported.

At U-M, the report alleges police used riot shields and pepper spray to remove a 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment on the Diag, MLive reported. It also accuses the university of arresting and detaining protesters, banning some from campus under threat of criminal trespass, barring others from working at university-affiliated institutions, removing signs about the conflict and adopting a broad new policy prohibiting "disruptions" anywhere on campus.

Paul Corliss, U-M's assistant vice president for public affairs and communications, said in a Sept. 24 email that the university does not restrict speech or take disciplinary action based on political viewpoint. He said policies apply regardless of cause or message and protect both free expression and the community's ability to learn, teach and work.

Corliss added that when demonstrations threaten safety, damage property, block access or substantially disrupt operations, the university has a responsibility to respond.

Jennifer Turner, principal human rights researcher for the ACLU's Human Rights Program, said schools "should resist the pressures placed on them to silence and punish students or faculty who engage in protest or advocacy for Palestinian rights."

Pro-Palestinian activism intensified on the Ann Arbor campus after Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. Campus protesters have demanded U-M divest from Israeli-backed companies.

Separately, the ACLU of Michigan filed a lawsuit in February 2025 on behalf of students challenging U-M's "trespass ban," which barred at least five people who participated in protests from campus. Court records show the students and the university reached a settlement around Sept. 17.

No terms were publicly available.

In June 2026, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging eight people linked to U-M with orchestrating threats against university leaders, police and businesses to force the school to sever ties with Israel. That case remains in federal court.

U-M President Domenico Grasso said in August 2025, before this report's release, that free speech is welcome on campus but that "actions that damage property, disrupt operations and events, deny access to facilities or public commons, and physically threaten or harm others, including public safety officers" are not acceptable.

Nationally, more than 1,360 pro-Palestinian demonstrations took place at U.S. colleges between Oct. 7, 2023, and May 3, 2024. Ninety-seven percent remained peaceful, according to Inside Higher Ed. Protest actions dropped more than 64 percent between the spring and fall terms of 2024.