ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Four more people are facing charges in an alleged intimidation campaign targeting University of Michigan officials.
The newly charged defendants are Aaron Hunter Vonbargen, 25, and Henry David MacKeen-Shapiro, Joseph Mark Fisher and Srishti Tarana Sharma, all 23.
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The charges bring the total number of defendants indicted by a federal grand jury to 12. In an October 30 announcement, federal officials said MacKeen-Shapiro and Vonbargen had been arrested that week. Fisher and Sharma remained at large at the time.
“These alleged attempts to terrorize our Jewish community and government officials are nothing new,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. “From Pharaoh to Hitler to Hamas, those who terrorize Jews have been the bad guys.”
He added, “As Americans, our job is to fight the bad guys.”
Among the 12 defendants is a former campaign worker for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Mariam Muhammed Odeh, 24, of Dearborn, was charged in June with conspiracy to transmit threats in connection with the alleged intimidation campaign targeting university officials and others.
Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, warned anyone considering similar threats.
“Those who believe they can threaten families, hide behind a group, and avoid accountability should think again,” she said. “Justice will find you.”
