The University of Michigan in the United States is using undercover agents to track Palestinian student protesters, according to a report released Friday.
Students said private investigators have been hired at a university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 45 miles (72.4 km) west of Detroit, to track them on and off campus, recording videos and eavesdropping.
Student protesters also said surveillance appears to be primarily a harassment and threatening tactic, according to the UK’s Daily the Guardian.
Secret agents cursed them, threatened them, and in one case one of them allegedly drove the car to a student who had to jump out of the vehicle’s way.
Students identified dozens of secret agents, often working in teams, and said they faced them. Just like in the film, the team is found sitting at a table near a cafe or bar, and they track down each time students meet. In one case recorded on video, a man tracking a disability that fake a student falsely accused the student of trying to steal him.
Surveillance has been on the rise in the wake of recent attacks on students approved by Democrat Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and FBI, the student told the Guardian.
The University of Michigan did not deny surveillance and told the newspaper it had not received complaints about investigators.
“The security measures in place focus solely on maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and are never directed at individuals or groups based on beliefs or affiliations,” the university said in a statement.
“The way the university is currently responding to student activities with a significant increase in surveillance is extremely vigilant through the spread of plain police officers,” Henry McKeane Shapiro, one of the students responsible for the trespass, said in an interview with the Guardian.