ANN ARBOR, MI — In June 2026, so-called “progressive” Washtenaw County Prosecutor and Michigan attorney general candidate Eli Savit took up the University of Michigan Police Department’s (UMPD) request for felony charges against GEO President Hiab Teshome. These baseless charges against Hiab for alleged embezzlement of funds from a student organization were the latest in a long line of attacks by U-M on Palestine solidarity and labor organizing on campus. On August 6, a district court judge quickly dismissed the case, thanks to months of determined organizing from Hiab’s coworkers, friends, and allies in the community.
GEO condemns these politically motivated charges and attacks on our Union. The University’s decision to involve law enforcement over alleged misconduct in a student organization is unprecedented and directly contradicts U-M’s student organization accountability processes, which explicitly deem criminalization inappropriate. Furthermore, an arrest warrant for Hiab was signed the day after UMPD participated in the FBI raid and arrests of the Michigan 8, and in the midst of contract negotiations between GEO and the University. The charges were brought forth through a collaboration between Savit, UMPD’s Sergeant Ryan Cavanaugh, and the Center for Campus Involvement (CCI), particularly CCI director Nick Smith. Cavanaugh and UMPD have directly harassed and attempted to intimidate Hiab, and have a history of violence against and repression of the movement for Palestine. For example, Cavanaugh took part in surveilling a student who engaged in pro-Palestine speech and advocacy, for which U-M — including UMPD and Cavanaugh specifically — are being sued.
Cavanaugh usurped the prosecutor office and filed for additional bond conditions against Hiab including attempting to ban her from campus and successfully banning her from the Ruthven Building due to it being the location of the Regent’s offices. These conditions have nothing to do with the allegations and demonstrate the political nature of these charges in an attempt to ban a bargaining team member, organizer, and worker from campus.
CCI has long been a part of student repression, including grad workers. Smith has been following GEO since 2023 and has been in attendance at pro-Palestine protests. In the fall of 2025, Student Life used its Office of Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR) to prosecute pro-Palestine student activists when Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel failed to bring charges against them. Cavanaugh testified against the targeted students multiple times in one-sided disciplinary proceedings.
Despite the University of Michigan’s collaboration with Savit to repress Palestine solidarity and labor organizing, a coalition of U-M students, faculty, staff, and community members successfully organized for the case’s dismissal.
GEO affirms its commitment to the Michigan 8 and the broader movement for Palestine, and recognizes the ties between the fight for a Free Palestine and just labor conditions for all workers at U-M. GEO will not stand for any attempts by the University of Michigan and its collaborators in the legal system to repress Palestine solidarity or labor organizing. We will continue rallying and organizing for justice for Hiab and accountability for those such as Cavanaugh and Savit who wield their power to criminalize upstanding community advocates.
Hiab is available for interviews with the press to talk about the dismissal of the politically motivated charges, the intersection between labor organizing and Palestine solidarity, and GEO’s ongoing contract negotiations with U-M.
Contact: commchair@geo3550.org
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