University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker's home vandalized, car spray-painted
(CBS DETROIT) — University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker said his home was vandalized and his vehicle spray-painted with pro-Palestinian graffiti overnight Monday.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Acker, who is Jewish, shared photos of a smashed front window of his Oakland County home and his wife's vehicle, which was parked in their driveway," spray-painted with the words "Divest" and "Free Palestine." Acker said it's the third time his family has been targeted.
"This is the third time that I — and now my family — have been the target of these Klan-like tactics," Acker said in the post. "We all need to call out this cowardly act attacking my family and my home for what it truly is — terrorism. And like we always do in this great nation when we're confronted with terrorism — I will not let fear win. All this does is harden my resolve to continue to do the right thing for the University and the Michigan voters who elected me. I call upon members of the Michigan community to publicly repudiate this vile anti-Semitic intimidation, and to offer full support to law enforcement to root out these bigots so they see the consequences for their actions."
In response to the incident at Acker's home, the university issued the following statement:
"The vandalism of Regent Jordan Acker's home early this morning is a clear act of antisemitic intimidation. 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."
In May, Acker and fellow regent Sarah Hubbard said pro-Palestinian protestors came to their homes with demands.
In a post on X on Monday, Michigan President Santa Ono said, "The attack on the home of Regent Acker is an affront to all that we stand for as a university and to our deepest values as a community. We condemn this vile act in the strongest possible terms."
In June, Acker's Southfield law office at Goodman Acker was vandalized. Police were investigating that incident as a hate crime.
