DETROIT — A statement by U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon likening a group of pro-Palestinian protesters facing federal charges to Adolf Hitler is "very concerning," a judge said while reminding prosecutors about the risk of tainting a prospective jury pool in a case involving an alleged conspiracy to terrorize members of the Jewish community and University of Michigan officials.

U.S. District Judge Judith Levy shared her concerns Nov. 3 during a hearing in federal court in Ann Arbor, four days after Gorgon, the region's top federal law enforcement official, issued a press release announcing a new round of criminal charges in the case.

“These alleged attempts to terrorize our Jewish community and government officials are nothing new," Gorgon said in the statement. "From Pharaoh to Hitler to Hamas, those who terrorize Jews have been the bad guys. As Americans, our job is to fight the bad guys.”

In all, 12 people have been charged since May, including accused ringleader Zainab Hakim, who is accused of helping destroy one victim’s law firm, throwing canning jar bombs into a victim’s home and spray-painting a car belonging to the victim’s wife, part of what prosecutors said is a campaign to force UM to sever ties with Israel.

The judge's comments and concerns reflect the heightened tension surrounding a high-profile, politically sensitive prosecution involving actions and allegations unfolding amid Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. Levy advised prosecutors to consider retracting the press release or taking it off the government’s website, where it remained viewable to the public Sunday.

Levy reminded prosecutors about their professional responsibilities and conduct, particularly those involving trial publicity that could be prejudicial and involve the "character, credibility, reputation, or criminal record of a party," according to a transcript of a court hearing that included Assistant U.S. Attorney Maggie Smith, the federal prosecutor assigned to the UM case.

“What I will do at this time is just ask Ms. Smith and your colleagues at the government counsel table to bring the message back to Mr. Gorgon that this is very concerning ...,” Levy said. "... We need to be awfully careful about the presumption of innocence in making extrajudicial statements that could impact the potential jury pool in this case.”

The statement will not be retracted or erased from the website, Gorgon said through a spokesman.

"U.S. Attorney Gorgon stands by his statement, and we will not be removing the press release from our website," his spokeswoman, Gina Balaya, wrote in a text message to The Detroit News.

Levy, who is Jewish and was nominated to the lifetime appointment by President Barack Obama in 2014, has a few options if the situation escalates and defense lawyers pursue objections to Gorgon's statement.

She could issue a gag order barring prosecutors and defense lawyers from commenting publicly about the case, pursue holding prosecutors in contempt and make a referral to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission for possible sanctions for violating rules of professional conduct.

Gorgon’s statement concerned defense lawyers in the case who worried about the impact on a prospective jury pool and the prejudicial effect on their clients.

“That’s pretty explosive language,” attorney Art Weiss, whose parents survived the Holocaust, told The Detroit News.

He represents Jonathan Zou, who is accused of joining others in vandalizing a Plymouth business building in March 2025 and the house of someone identified as V-7 or Victim 7.

“The concern is they’re going to taint the jury pool and taint everyone else out there regarding these 12 individuals," Weiss said.

Members of the group are accused of participating in an alleged conspiracy involving a campaign of threats and vandalism targeting University of Michigan leaders, police, and businesses. The campaign targeted several victims, including former UM President Santa Ono, Regent Jordan Acker and the Jewish Federation of Detroit, prosecutors alleged.

If the case goes to trial, Weiss expects prospective jurors will be questioned about Gorgon’s statement, what effect it had on them and whether they can set that aside.

Legal experts said it is unusual for federal prosecutors in Michigan to make inflammatory public comments about defendants, particularly during the early stages of a criminal case. Since taking office during President Donald Trump's second term, Gorgon has drawn attention within legal circles for using blunt and derogatory terms to refer to defendants in press releases, though a review of his public statements shows he typically reserves the most critical comments following a conviction.

Several releases quote Gorgon calling sex offenders "perverts," white-collar criminals "fraudsters" and immigrants "illegal aliens."

After Venezuelan immigrant Arnoldo Jose Marquez-Pulido was sentenced in September, Gorgon called him a "dangerous illegal alien" who fled from federal agents and grabbed an investigator's firearm.

"Our federal agents put their lives on the line every day to protect Americans against dangerous illegal aliens like this man," Gorgon said in the statement. "He should never have been in our country."

That same month, Gorgon called Milford bank executive Michael Martin Yeager a pervert after Yeager was convicted of sexually exploiting children.

“This pervert sent money overseas to hurt little children and to use them to create unimaginable images," Gorgon said. "He is wicked."

In May, Gorgon also labeled Lincoln Erickson, a Farmington Hills doctor, a pervert after the medical professional pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.

“This pervert was lurking among our trusted medical professionals. At the same time, he was feeding his disgusting appetites and plotting to abuse little children. Thankfully, the FBI caught him when they did,” Gorgon said.

That same month, he called armed felon Cartez Howard of Detroit a "hell-raiser" after Howard was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison.

“This man is the kind of hell-raiser that can make a neighborhood unlivable. He did just about everything wrong with a gun, except kill somebody. We are thankful that the ATF took him off of our streets,” Gorgon said.

This spring, he had harsh words for Aws Mohammed Naser of Westland after Naser was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic States terror group.

“This self-professed ‘soldier of the Caliphate’ and ‘son of the Islamic State’ has now faced American justice. We welcomed this traitor into our nation with open arms. And he repaid us by building a bomb and helping our great enemy,” Gorgon said.

During the Nov. 3 hearing in the UM case, defense lawyer Molly Armour brought a copy of Gorgon's press release and gave it to the judge.

“... We are very concerned about the tenor and some of the phrasing that was used in this press release and how inflammatory and significantly prejudicial it is to our clients,” Armour told the judge.

“I can think of no phrases more loaded than the phrase chosen by the U.S. Attorney in this press release,” said Armour, who represents Paige Feyock, 26, of Ann Arbor, who is portrayed by the government as the group's countersurveillance expert. “I will also note that it seems completely untethered to the charges and allegations in this case which deal with vandalism.”

The defendants who have made initial appearances in court have been released on bond. In the aftermath of criminal charges being filed, the government has faced criticism that the case represents an attempt to punish pro-Palestinian protesters for their viewpoints and speech.

The First Amendment, however, "does not protect acts that harm other people," U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Patti said in releasing members of the alleged conspiracy on bond. "Or cause them to be in fear about staying in their own homes."

Smith, the federal prosecutor, disavowed Gorgon’s statement during the Nov. 3 court hearing.

“Our PR office does the press releases ... nobody here at this table wrote that press release,” Smith told the judge.

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