Judge dismisses 4 charges against University of Michigan for threatening bond conspiracy
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A group of college activists have been released on bond after being charged earlier this week with conspiring to intimidate University of Michigan leaders over their refusal to divest from Israel.
Four of the eight defendants – Zainab Hakim, 23; Paige Feyock, 26; Jonathan Zou, 22; and Colin Weger, 24 — appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Patti on Friday.
This happened after FBI Director Kash Patel announced that seven people have been arrested in this case.
After Hakim, Feyock, Zou and Weger entered not guilty pleas, Patti ordered them released on bond, according to court records reviewed by Fox News Digital.
They will have to surrender their passports, have no contact with any alleged victims or co-defendants and abide by GPS monitoring and travel restrictions, CBS News reported.
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The photo shows threatening messages allegedly painted on the Jewish Federation building in the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas in Israel. (US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Michigan)
Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that the defendants should remain in prison because they are dangerous and a danger to society.
The judge emphasized the concern for freedom, given how credible the case is in social media posts made by the defendants, according to CBS News.
Shortly after Hamas launched its Oct. 7 in 2023, the suspects allegedly began working together to intimidate university leaders, law enforcement and businesses they believed supported Israel financially, according to the federal indictment.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan released a photo showing one incident of intimidation, where in May 2024, students placed fake corpses wrapped in sheets outside the home of University of Michigan Regent Sarah Hubbard.
Hubbard accepted the charges, saying in a statement that he was “very grateful for the hard work” of law enforcement, according to the Associated Press.
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Prosecutors said the defendants defaced other homes and businesses with messages that read “Free Palestine,” “Divest Now,” and “Intifada.” These phrases were painted on the Jewish Federation Building one year after the Oct. 7.
“The defendants also left demand notes containing additional threats, locked doors, locked doors with bicycles, broken windows, and threw glass jars filled with butyric acid and dye at homes. The defendants took photos of the carnage and posted the images online,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The indictment alleged that the conspirators spent months stalking the so-called “targets” discussing how they would use “poison, bombs and psychological torture” to harm them.
On May 21, 2024, Feyock and Ahmet Korkaya, another defendant in the case, allegedly confessed to killing, torturing and threatening their families, according to the lawsuit.
Anti-Israel protesters hold a mock trial against the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents on the university’s campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., on April 21, 2025. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)
Korkaya allegedly said in the text messages that one person’s “entire family” was “on his list,” prosecutors said.
A medical student at the time, Korkaya allegedly told Feyock that he would be “the dirtiest doctor ever” and gradually “poison” one of the people on his new list.
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Korkaya appeared in federal court in Wisconsin earlier this week, and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
The most serious charge in the case, that of intimidation of witnesses, was brought against Hakim and Feyock. The two are alleged to have threatened someone in their circle who they believe may have been talking to law enforcement about their activities. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.
Others reported in this case are Jonathan Hongru Zou, 22, and Alexander Sepulveda, 23, who are accused of throwing two glass jars filled with an unknown blue substance through the window of the university’s provost, Laurie McCauley. They also allegedly spray-painted the home with inverted red triangles and phrases including “Divest” and “Free Palestine.”
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According to the Detroit Free Press, this incident took place in March 2025.
The images show threatening messages allegedly painted on the Jewish Federation building on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas in Israel. (US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Michigan)
Authorities attempted to execute a search warrant at Sepulveda’s home in April 2025. Sepulveda was alerted to this by an anonymous person in an encrypted group chat, prompting him to delete all information from his phone and laptop, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Sepulveda will appear in federal court in Detroit on Monday.
Those named in the lawsuit are charged with conspiracy to threaten or destroy property to avoid forfeiture and face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
