“For much of Friday afternoon, the four defendants sat in orange jumpsuits, their hands cuffed in front of their waists, as a judge weighed a federal prosecutor’s request to keep them locked up ahead of trial.” … “The case reflected an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian activism at universities in recent years, and raised divergent concerns about antisemitism, free speech and how politics might be shaping the Justice Department’s priorities.

Liz Jacob, a lawyer representing two of the defendants in separate civil cases against the university, saw the Justice Department’s approach as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration “to silence dissent and to try to silence any kind of opposition to what the government is doing.”

“When activists and organizers and people who speak out think that the F.B.I. could be coming to their door in ski masks to arrest them because of their protest activity, that is terrifying, and that alone chills speech,” said Ms. Jacob, of the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice.”

See full story by Mitch Smith from the New York Times, here.

See also, stories in Michigan Advance, Michigan Public radio, and Metro Times.