DETROIT — A group is suing Wayne State University, claiming the school violated its members’ constitutional rights during a 2024 protest against Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
A complaint was filed Tuesday in Detroit’s U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by Troy law firm Akeel & Valentine PLC on behalf of four students, three WSU graduates and a parent. The group is seeking a jury trial for damages, the court document said.
It names several defendants: Wayne State University, its police department, the dean of students, the assistant dean of students and seven university police officers.
The complaint alleges the school violated the students’ First Amendment, Fourth Amendment and 14th Amendment rights “through (the defendants’) violent raid, mass arrests, and continuing retaliation against a peaceful student protest.”
It also accuses the defendants of malicious prosecution and gross negligence.
“Defendants retaliated and discriminated against American students of various faith, race, and ethnicity based on the content of their speech and viewpoints on issues of significant public interest to the university community — including students, faculty, and staff at Wayne State University — and to the public at large, in violation of Plaintiffs’ free speech, due process, and equal protection rights,” the filing said.
Wayne State University officials on Thursday said they cannot comment on pending litigation, but the school is “deeply committed to ensuring a safe and inclusive learning environment for all.”
The university “will continue to support the rights of all students, faculty and staff to exercise their rights to free speech, expression and worship,” said Matt Lockwood, a WSU spokesman. “We will also continue to uphold our obligation to ensure — in a content-neutral manner — that conduct on our campus does not violate the law, infringe upon the rights of others, contravene university policy, or disrupt university operations.”
The complaint stems from a May 23, 2024, protest on Wayne State’s campus that urged the university to divest holdings in its endowment linked to Israel and weapons manufacturers. The protest grew into an encampment.
The issue prompted the school to shift to remote learning.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib said WSU officials threatened to tear down the pro-Palestinian encampment after three days.
On May 30, 2024, police cleared the encampment and arrested a dozen people as university leaders cited safety concerns.
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Authorities charged five people who were arrested when the encampment was dismantled. In September, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said it dismissed the charges against them, citing insufficient evidence.
Students Nuzmeya Abdrabboh, John Pablo Rojas, Caleb Mallery, Jackson Robak and Ridaa Khan were sleeping in tents at the encampment when police descended on them without warning, according to their complaint.
Abdrabboh said in the filing that a police officer forcefully grabbed her scarf as she was moving backwards, causing her to fall head-first to the ground.
“Her scarf was ripped off, and she was shoved onto the pavement,” according to the complaint. She was then arrested and put into a police car.
Jackson claims that four police officers forcibly held him down with their hands on his neck, causing him to black out momentarily.
“(Police) injured Jackson’s nose during the arrest, causing him to visibly bleed, and he recalls witnessing the intense fear of those witnessing the brutal actions against him, heightening the emotional and physical trauma of the event,” the lawsuit said.
Kahn, a senior at the time of the protest, was a member of WSU Students for Justice in Palestine.
Jenna Sukkar, Ayah Abuelenain, and her mother, Saeida Marini, arrived at the encampment site a little later, the document said.
Abuelenain alleges police grabbed her cross-body bag, pulled it tightly, causing it to choke her. Officers arrested her, her mother, and her cousin, Abdrabboh.
Abdrabboh, Mallery, Robak, and Sukkar are currently enrolled at WSU, according to the complaint. Abuelenain is a 2022 graduate. Khan graduated before the lawsuit was filed.
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