Missouri – Missouri’s top legal office is turning its attention to the money behind a nationwide campus organization, opening an investigation that could trace how charitable donations collected from Missourians are solicited, reported and ultimately used.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Wednesday that her office is investigating Students for Justice in Palestine, or SJP, over its fundraising and charitable-solicitation activities in Missouri. The inquiry follows public reports raising concerns about fundraising representations and alleged connections between SJP-related efforts and organizations whose resources could ultimately reach terrorist groups.
The Attorney General’s Office is issuing civil investigative demands to both Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine and National SJP. The demands seek records involving the solicitation, collection, reporting and handling of charitable funds raised in or from Missouri. Such demands allow investigators to obtain information as they determine whether state consumer-protection laws may have been violated.
“Our office will not tolerate any organization duping Missourians or Missouri students into unknowingly financing radical Islamic terrorism,” Hanaway said.
“We will use every tool the law allows to expose deceptive fundraising, trace where the money goes, and stop any effort to channel charitable donations to violent or terror-linked actors. Missouri will not be exploited as a cash conduit for terrorists in the Middle East.”
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According to Hanaway’s office, investigators have grounds to examine whether SJP affiliates, representatives or agents engaged in deception, fraud, false promises, misrepresentation, unfair practices or the concealment of important information connected to charitable solicitations. The investigation is being conducted under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
SJP has chapters at universities across the country, including the University of Missouri, University of Missouri–Kansas City, Washington University in St. Louis and Missouri State University. The Attorney General’s Office also pointed to statements and material issued by National SJP and some chapters following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, including a “Day of Resistance” toolkit that described the assault as a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance.”
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The civil demands are investigative tools and do not constitute a finding that SJP or its chapters committed wrongdoing. Hanaway’s office said it will review the records produced and determine its next steps based on the evidence gathered.
The CID sent to National SJP can be viewed here.
