At issue was a confrontation Folts and other pro-Palestinian student activists had weeks earlier with President Kevin Guskiewicz at Sparticipation, the annual fair where thousands of students roam the IM East field to visit tables promoting various campus clubs and university departments.

The event provided the high visibility that makes for an effective protest, Folts said, so he and others employed the tried-and-true tactics of public pressure against MSU they've used for years. They chanted, held banners and implored the university to pull any endowment investments tied to Israel and weapons manufacturers.

MSU viewed the confrontation differently. Not only had the protesters disrupted a university event, their "aggressiveness" in walking up directly to Guskiewicz to press him with questions amounted to intimidation, making him fear for his safety, according to the disciplinary message sent to Folts, which he shared with The State News.

Folts has officially refused to accept the disciplinary charges against him in relation to the incident, and now awaits a hearing before a board where he'll argue his case. That board will ultimately decide whether evidence justifies the charges against him. If found to be responsible, possible sanctions range from a written expression of disapproval, to restitution, to dismissal from the university in extreme cases. Folts would also be permitted to appeal such sanctions. 

For one, the episode underscores escalating tensions around freedom of speech on college campuses: Folts sees the disciplinary action being taken against him as "unprecedented," and an attempt to curtail his constitutional right to protest. 

But it also comes as public figures adjust in an era when political violence has become increasingly common. Several members of the University of Michigan's Board of Regents, for example, have recently hired private security details amid prolonged protests on campus over the Israel-Hamas war, The Detroit News reported. 

'Bird-dogging' the president

The Hurriya Coalition — a group of student organizations that have called for MSU's divestment from Israel —  had been planning a demonstration during the historically crowded Sparticipation. For the sake of "visibility," the event was opportune for a protest, Folts said.

They arrived an hour into the event and dropped banners from the parking garage facing the field. Folts and the other demonstrators stayed in the garage for about 45 minutes until they saw a post on Instagram by student radio station Impact89FM announcing that Guskiewicz would be speaking on the stage nearby.

The protesters marched to the stage, and when they arrived, Guskiewicz was addressing the crowd. As he spoke, the protestors stood in front of the stage, displayed their banners and chanted. 

When Guskiewicz finished his remarks, Folts and another protestors saw their chance to press the president. 

"We had kind of turned to him as he was walking down the stairs, and we bird-dogged him," Folts said. "You know, where we go up and just try to confront him, ask him questions."

"I was saying things about divestment. I brought up stuff about him caving into the Trump administration, as far as budget cuts and firing people, or laying off people and his complicity to the genocide."

Guskiewicz didn't acknowledge his questions at first. Then, "maybe 30 seconds in," Guskiewicz faced Folts, "shook his finger, and said, 'This is not the place for this. This is a celebration.'"

"That was the angriest I've ever seen him," Folts said.

Guskiewicz proceeded to walk away from Folts and the other protestors before other speakers took the stage. They stopped chanting during this period, as those on stage didn’t hold the power to make the decisions they want from Guskiewicz.

By the time the president returned to the stage for concluding remarks, Folts said several police officers had formed a barrier between the stage and protesters. He added that when Guskiewicz left the event, they followed him and continued to chant.

The complaint

MSU Police Lt. Steven Brandman was one of those police officers at Sparticipation during the protest. His complaint with OSSA describes the events differently than Folts. 

The complaint, which was shared with The State News by Folts, said the protestors had advanced to the stage and were close enough that “the president and those with him were uncomfortable.”

It also says Folts led others in chants in an "apparent attempt to call attention to themselves and disrupt the event."

Another protester — unnamed, but described as a male wearing a "black and white keffiyeh" — moved to where Guskiewicz and others would be exiting from the stage, the complaint said. Folts stood next to this unnamed male protester as he "moved closer to the president, and started yelling at the president directly," the complaint said.

On at least two occasions before Guskiewicz retreated from the site with an officer, the complaint said, police had to prevent the protestors from moving into his "personal space." It added: "It was evident the president and his group were uncomfortable and concerned for their safety due to the aggressiveness of the protesters confronting the president and his group."

The complaint identifies Folts as the leader of the group, based on his body language and behavior. It also notes that he was one of 19 protesters arrested in April for a sit-in protest at the Hannah Administration Building — and that he was arrested there another time before that on the same charge. 

That documentation is one issue Folts takes with the complaint. To him, it suggests "they are trying to establish a pattern in my actions." As a highly visible and prolific participant in protests of the sort, Folts believes he was an "easy target" for the university to single out among those who were there.

More broadly, he maintains it mischaracterizes a peaceful protest as an aggressive and violent one.

"It is unprecedented, and it is alarming. In my opinion, that individual police officers, or police generally, can file disciplinary charges against a student for using their right to protest in a public space," Folts said.

A nerve-wracking wait

Folts was the only one at the protest contacted by the university and is currently facing three policy violations: Continuously or persistently intimidating an individual, prohibited harassment and disrupting university functions, services or failing to comply with university directives.

The Friday after he received notice of these violations, he met with an administrator to discuss the charges. During the meeting, Folts was told he had five class days to either deny or accept responsibility.

He spent those five days speaking with friends, family, professors and other student activists about what he should do. Folts said he even spoke with a lawyer privy to student activism cases with the university. On the final day to make a decision, Folts chose to deny responsibility.

"It was out of my own principle," he said.

Though he takes the allegations seriously, Folts said he doesn't want to accept responsibility for something he believes he didn't do.

He also took issue with how one of the violations characterizes his protesting as intimidation. A person in violation, according to the charge, persistently intimidates an individual "to coerce that individual into some action."

"It isn't coercion," Folts said. "We are using our right to free speech to protest."

Guskiewicz shouldn’t feel afraid for any reason, Folts said, because Hurriya protests have shown consistently that they are peaceful, whether it's at a board meeting or his presidential investiture.

"He should know that more than anyone else," he said.

MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant declined to comment for this story, as the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act precludes the university does from speaking about any situation involving a student moving through conduct review. Deputy Chief of MSU Police Chris Rozman declined to comment for the same reason. 

Folts isn’t exactly sure how his situation will play out. He elected almost two weeks ago to have his case adjudicated by a board, rather than a sole administrator, and hasn’t heard from the university since that decision. In the meantime, he plans to keep a low profile at protests, and won’t be attending every one like he used to.

"I don't want to be targeted again," he said.

Folts said he feels confident that he is in the right, and has had support from professors and other students at the university. The administrator he met with about his case said it's unlikely Folts will be dismissed from MSU — but still, the uncertainty is nerve-wracking:

"Especially since I'm waiting for my degree to confer in December, I'm nervous," he said. "And I work for the university. I don't want to lose my job."