This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
UPDATE 12/9: This article has been updated to include comment from Regent Jordan Acker and U-M Public Affairs.
Early Monday morning, University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker (D) awoke to the sound of two heavy objects being thrown through a front window of his home, according to his Instagram post. Acker also found his wife’s car graffitied with an inverted red triangle, a symbol of Palestinian resistance against Israel, and the words “DIVEST” and “FREE PALESTINE” in red ink.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Acker recounted the moment he woke up Monday morning.
“We were woken this morning at about 2 a.m. by the sound of crashing glass,” Acker said. “We were really confused. And then the police rang the doorbell, maybe a minute to a minute and a half later, and we saw that our car had been spray painted (with) some messages of threats…They had thrown two mason jars through our front window.”
This incident marks the third time pro-Palestine protesters have targeted Acker. The first incident occurred May 15, when a masked protester came to Acker’s home to deliver a list of demands that included University divestment from companies profiting off the Israeli military campaign in Gaza and the defunding of the Division of Public Safety & Security. Protesters also staged a demonstration at the residence of University Regent Sarah Hubbard (R) that same day. The second incident occurred June 3, when Acker’s Southfield law office was vandalized with demands for the U-M administration to divest.
Acker said he supports full prosecution for those responsible for the vandalism incident.
“We can disagree, we can fight, we can have long disagreements about policy, but committing crimes is not appropriate,” Acker said. “It’s never acceptable under any circumstances for members of our community. And I am supporting law enforcement in their search for whomever did this, and whomever did this should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including federally.”
The U-M Public Affairs team posted a statement Monday condemning the incident and calling it an act of clear antisemitic intimidation.
“The vandalism of Regent Jordan Acker’s home early this morning is a clear act of antisemitic intimidation,” the statement read. “The University of Michigan condemns these criminal acts in the strongest possible terms. They are abhorrent and, unfortunately, just the latest in a number of incidents where individuals have been harassed because of their work on behalf of the university. This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We call on our community to come together in solidarity and to firmly reject all forms of bigotry and violence.”
Daily News Editor Sneha Dhandapani can be reached at sdhanda@umich.edu.