FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday that a federal grand jury has indicted eight individuals following what authorities describe as a coordinated campaign of vandalism, intimidation, and violence stretching from March 2024 to April 2025. The attacks targeted University of Michigan officials, local businesses, and law enforcement across eastern Michigan.
“These individuals spent over a year allegedly engaging in a targeted, coordinated campaign of violence and intimidation motivated by the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel,” Patel said in a statement. “They vandalized property, left threatening messages and even violently attacked homes while children slept inside.”
The Department of Justice identified the defendants as Zainab Aliasgar Hakim, 23, of Canton, Michigan; Amatullah Aliasgar Hakim, 21, of Ann Arbor; Paige Elizabeth Feyock, 26, of Ann Arbor; Ahmet Kerem Korkaya, 28, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Jonathan Hongru Zou, 22, of Ann Arbor; Alexander Matthew Sepulveda, 23, of Chicago, Illinois; Mariam Muhammed Odeh, 24, of Dearborn, Michigan; and Colin Hunter Weger, 24, of Ann Arbor.
According to the DOJ, the group’s tactics escalated dramatically over time. What began as spray-painting homes with words like “Intifada” and “Free Palestine” grew into something far more dangerous. Authorities say the suspects threw glass jars filled with butyric acid and dye into family homes, caulked doors shut, bike-locked entryways, and shattered windows.
The most violent incidents occurred on October 7, 2024, exactly one year after Hamas terrorists murdered over 1,200 Israelis in their coordinated attack.
One high-profile victim was University of Michigan Board of Regents member Jordan Acker. In December 2024, vandals shattered his front window and spray-painted his wife’s car with messages demanding university divestment. They also painted an inverted red triangle, a symbol associated with Hamas targeting. The university administration condemned the attack as “a clear act of antisemitic intimidation.”
The suspects didn’t hide their work. According to Patel, they photographed the destruction and posted images online with “official statements” and additional warnings. Messages included threats like “you cannot hide” and “we only come back stronger.”
To coordinate their strikes, members of the group reportedly used encrypted messaging platforms and social media to identify targets. The investigation spanned multiple states, with FBI teams working across Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
The indictment paints a picture of domestic terrorism hiding behind the banner of political activism. These weren’t peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. According to federal prosecutors, they were a coordinated cell that systematically targeted Jewish Americans and Israel supporters with violence and threats.
