Prosecutors seek to jail pro-Palestinian activist over alleged evidence destruction in University of Michigan threats case

Federal prosecutors asked a judge Nov. 2 to jail Zainab Hakim, whom they accuse of leading a conspiracy targeting University of Michigan officials and members of the Jewish community, saying she attempted to destroy evidence while free on bond. 

Prosecutors allege Hakim helped lead a campaign of threats and vandalism that ran from approximately October 2023 through April 2025 to pressure the university to sever ties with Israel. According to a May indictment unsealed in June, the group allegedly defaced homes and other properties, threw jars containing noxious substances into homes, and discussed kidnapping or firebombing targets. 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) identified the targets as the Jewish Federation of Detroit, two university regents and other university leaders, a university police lieutenant, a student, and two businesses with perceived ties to Israel. The department announced Oct. 30 that a federal grand jury had indicted four additional defendants, bringing the total to 12. 

The latest allegations against Hakim center on an Oct. 29 law enforcement operation, during which prosecutors say the 23-year-old damaged and concealed a laptop investigators believe belonged to her boyfriend, Henry David MacKeen-Shapiro, according to The Detroit News.

The outlet, citing prosecutors’ Nov. 2 court filing, reported that officials preparing to arrest MacKeen-Shapiro and co-defendant Aaron Hunter Vonbargen, 25, on Oct. 29 called one of Vonbargen’s relatives to notify them of his arrest warrant. Investigators suspect word of the impending arrests reached Hakim within the next hour. 

Officials forced entry into the Detroit townhouse she shares with MacKeen-Shapiro after she and two others inside failed to open the door, prosecutors said. Inside, investigators found a wet laptop concealed by bags of clothing beneath Hakim’s bed.

“The sabotaged MacBook had been recently dunked in water,” prosecutors wrote, according to The Detroit News. “Droplets remained on the screen and touchpad. All evidence points to Zainab Hakim either being tipped off by a conspirator, or hearing the police knock and announce, and destroying (or attempting to destroy) and hiding MacKeen-Shapiro's laptop computer.” 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Smith and Robert Kuhn argued that Hakim, a University of Michigan graduate, poses an ongoing danger and that even strict release conditions would not prevent further obstruction, according to the outlet.

Hakim’s attorney, Amanda Bashi, disputed the government’s account, telling Detroit News in an email that they “strongly contest” the allegations and “look forward to filing our responsive brief.” 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Patti ordered Hakim’s release in June on a $10,000 unsecured bond after concluding that restrictions could reasonably address concerns about public safety and her appearance in court, Michigan Advance reported June 12.

The initial conditions included home detention with GPS monitoring, surrender of her passport, and travel restrictions. Her defense cited her lack of a criminal record, longstanding Michigan ties, and the recommendation of pretrial services to release her. The Detroit News reported that in September, U.S. District Judge Judith Levy replaced home detention with a curfew.

Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said in a June announcement discussing the case that “No one has the right to threaten, intimidate, and coerce public officials, law enforcement officers, community institutions, or their families.”

She added, “Those who engage in coordinated campaigns of threats and intimidation should expect to be held fully accountable under federal law.”