Police probe pro-Palestine graffiti on University of Michigan provost's Ann Arbor home

Charles E. Ramirez and Kim Kozlowski, The Detroit News on Mar 17, 2025

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DETROIT — Ann Arbor police are investigating after "Free Palestine" and other words were spray-painted Sunday on the home of University of Michigan Provost Laurie McCauley.

Officers were called at about 8 a.m. Sunday to a home in the 2000 block of Londonderry Road in Ann Arbor for a report of malicious destruction of property, according to authorities.

Police officers arrived and found an object that had been thrown through one of the home's bedroom windows, according to the Ann Arbor police department. Officers also found the words "Free Palestine," "Divest," and "No Honor in Genocide" spray-painted on the front of the home, investigators said.

UM officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but UM Board Regent Sarah Hubbard confirmed Monday the vandalism occurred at the home of McCauley, a longtime UM dental school dean who became the university's chief academic officer in 2022.

The vandalism at McCauley's house is among numerous incidents of property damage that have occurred at the homes of UM leaders as tensions have increased on campus following the Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attacks by Hamas on Israel that led to 1,200 deaths and the kidnapping of about 250 individuals. Israeli's subsequent war on Hamas in Gaza left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and an estimated $18.5 billion in infrastructure damage before a ceasefire was reached in January.

In December, vandals targeted the home of Regent Jordan Acker, by throwing a mason jar through one of his home's windows. They also spray-painted the words "Divest and Free Palestine" on a vehicle, along with an upside-down red triangle.

Vandals also targeted Acker's Southfield law office in June with spray-painted messages that included "Free Palestine" and "Divest Now."

The personal homes of President Santa Ono and Erik Lundberg, UM's chief investment officer, also were vandalized last October on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks.

The messages at Ono's home were spray-painted in red on his house and sidewalk. They included "Coward," "Divest now," along with upside-down triangles and "intifada," an Arabic word meaning uprising or resistance. Similar words were spray painted at Lundberg's home, including "complicit" and "intifada."

The same month, the Jewish Federation of Detroit's Bloomfield Township offices were also defaced.

UM officials have faced months of pressure to eliminate investments in Israeli business ventures by the university's multibillion-dollar endowment.

Authorities said no injuries were reported at the home of McCauley, where they believe the home was vandalized sometime between 9 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday.

Anyone with information about the incident or with surveillance video from the area should call the Ann Arbor Police Department at (734) 794-6920 or email tips to tips@a2gov.org.

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