Missouri Investigates Students for Justice in Palestine Over Hamas Terror Funding
Source: Instagram | msjp.mizzou
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced on September 23, 2026, that her office had issued civil investigative demands to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters at three University of Missouri campuses and to the national SJP organization, opening a formal inquiry into whether the group's fundraising practices violate state law and whether SJP funds may have reached Hamas or its affiliates.
ANALYSIS
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway issued civil investigative demands (CIDs) on September 23, 2026, to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters at the University of Missouri campuses in Columbia, Kansas City, and St. Louis, as well as to National SJP. The demands require production of fundraising records and charitable solicitation materials under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, the statutory authority the office cited for the inquiry. Hanaway stated that public reports had raised concerns about SJP's fundraising representations and alleged links to organizations whose resources may ultimately reach Hamas, which the US State Department has designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
National SJP distributed a 'Day of Resistance' toolkit within hours of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israeli civilian communities. The toolkit praised the assault and described it as a 'historic win for the Palestinian resistance.' SJP national leadership and multiple campus chapters issued statements endorsing Hamas's actions. Those statements create a public record that distinguishes SJP's national leadership from organizations that maintain deliberate ambiguity about their relationship to Hamas's programs.
Missouri's investigation is civil, not criminal, directed at charitable solicitation compliance rather than terrorism financing charges. CIDs carry legal force: recipients must produce the requested materials or challenge the demands in court.
Missouri's action is the latest in a series of state-level moves against campus SJP chapters since October 2023. Several universities suspended SJP chapters for conduct violations, and other state attorneys general had previously requested information from SJP affiliates. Missouri's use of a consumer protection statute as the investigative vehicle is the first reported instance of a state applying that framework specifically to an SJP financing investigation.
SOURCES
