AFT Michigan lawsuit against Project Veritas ends in private settlement

Max Reinhart, The Detroit News on Oct 23, 2026

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DETROIT — A statewide labor union representing Michigan educators and others announced a settlement with a conservative activist organization it accused of infiltration, the union announced Oct. 23.

The terms of the agreement between the American Federation of Teachers Michigan and Project Veritas, a nonprofit group that did undercover reporting for largely conservative causes, have not been made public.

AFT Michigan, which represents about 40,000 educators, health care providers and other workers through 105 local unions statewide, said in a news release on Oct. 23 that the settlement "will have the effect of deterring Project Veritas from again attempting to infiltrate a labor organization."

“I’m proud of what this settlement represents about our leaders and staff,” AFT Michigan President Terrence Martin said in the release. “The spy who infiltrated our union was hoping to dig up embarrassing information on us but found instead how hard everyone at AFT Michigan works to represent our members."

The Detroit News has reached out to Project Veritas for comment and more information about the settlement.

In a 2017 lawsuit, AFT Michigan alleged that Project Veritas operative Marisa Jorge used a false identity to secure an internship with the union.

AFT accused Jorge of secretly recording conversations and copying confidential documents and said Project Veritas edited a staff member’s comments to create a misleading narrative and discredit the union.

In March, a federal judge granted AFT Michigan summary judgment on its trespass and fraudulent misrepresentation claims but sided with Project Veritas by ruling that Jorge did not violate the state's eavesdropping law.

Michigan has long been known as a "one-party consent" state, meaning that at least one person in a recorded conversation must be aware that it is being recorded.

The judge withheld judgment on two other issues, leaving open the questions of whether Jorge owed the federation a duty of loyalty in terms of non-disclosure or whether her conduct violated federal wiretapping laws.

The case had been scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 20, according to court records.

An order filed late last month in Detroit's federal court indicates the case was dismissed with prejudice and that no attorney fees were awarded to any party.