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Hakim et al. v. Regents of the University of Michigan et al

May 2025
University of Michigan (Public college or university)
Ann Arbor, MI

Identity of Speakers

  • Zainab Hakim
    Faculty/Staff
    Other

    Graduate of and full-time employee at the University of Michigan; Plaintiff

  • Henry MacKeen-Shapiro
    Student
    Other

    Undergraduate student and employee at the University of Michigan; Plaintiff

  • Eaman Ali
    Student
    Other

    Undergraduate student and employee at the University of Michigan; Plaintiff

  • Assmaa Eidy
    Student
    Other

    Undergraduate student and employee at the University of Michigan; Plaintiff

  • Harrison Rhoades
    Faculty/Staff
    Other

    Graduate of and employee at the University of Michigan; Plaintiff

  • Arwa Hassaballa
    Faculty/Staff
    Other

    Graduate of and employee at the University of Michigan; Plaintiff

  • Rhea Chappell
    Student
    Other

    Undergraduate student and employee at the University of Michigan; Plaintiff

  • Zaynab Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Elkolaly
    Faculty/Staff
    Other

    Graduate of and employee at the University of Michigan; Plaintiff

Resources

Additional Information

  • Incident Nature:
    Lawsuit
  • Incident Political Orientation:
    Right wing
  • Incident Responses:
    University investigation issuing in sanctions
    Litigation
    Title IX or other federal statute
  • Incident Status:
    In litigation Federal District Court
  • Did not involve Speech Codes

Summary

On May 1, 2025, Zainab Hakim and seven other plaintiffs, all current or former student employees and one full-time employee at the University of Michigan, filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging they were terminated in retaliation for engaging in protected speech related to pro-Palestine advocacy. The complaint asserts First Amendment retaliation and Fourteenth Amendment due process claims and seeks declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and damages.

The case arises from campus protest activity following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel and the subsequent Israeli military operations in Gaza. Plaintiffs engaged in pro-Palestine demonstrations in response to the conflict and related university policies and institutional positions. In November 2023, plaintiffs participated in a sit-in at a university administrative building during a period of heightened campus protest activity. In May 2024, plaintiffs took part in a protest encampment and related demonstrations on university grounds focused on divestment and changes to university investment and partnership policies.

Following these events, the university initiated investigations, placed student employees on interim suspension, and issued termination notices citing alleged violations of workplace and conduct policies, including disruption of operations and failure to comply with directives. Plaintiffs were terminated from their positions and barred from future employment at the university. The university has stated that the disciplinary actions were based on conduct and policy violations rather than political viewpoints, including allegations related to disruption of university operations and failure to follow instructions issued during protest activity. Plaintiffs allege that similar conduct in other contexts did not result in comparable discipline and that the actions were motivated by disagreement with their protected speech and advocacy.

In August 2025, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint adding additional defendants and alleging further retaliatory actions taken after the filing of the lawsuit, including additional adverse employment-related consequences tied to their protest activity and subsequent legal claims.

In March 2026, the court issued a ruling allowing key First Amendment retaliation claims to proceed into discovery, while dismissing certain other claims at the motion-to-dismiss stage. The court determined that the plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged facts, if proven, that could support a claim that the university’s employment actions were taken in response to protected expressive activity