US to investigate Columbia university protests for terrorism violations: Official
The US Justice Department says it has launched an investigation into the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, examining potential violations of federal terrorism laws.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday that the investigation was part of President Donald Trump’s “mission to end antisemitism in this country,” calling it a pushback that was “long overdue.”
“We are also looking at whether Columbia’s handling of earlier incidents violated civil rights laws and included terrorist crimes,” he said.
Blanche has stated that law enforcement agents executed a search warrant on Thursday night as part of a separate probe into whether Columbia University harbored undocumented immigrants on its campus.
Students say federal immigration agents have put the dorms and student housings around Columbia’s campus under surveillance.
Trump’s Department of Education has also warned that it has been investigating 60 schools for allegedly tolerating a hostile environment for Jews.
Civil rights activists have criticized these investigations, and emphasized that protesters have been practicing their rights to free speech.
The recent developments demonstrate that the Trump administration has no intention of easing its suppression of pro-Palestinian student activists and university policies that it claims allow anti-Semitism to flourish on campus.
As part of its suppression, the Trump administration has removed $400 million in federal funding from the university’s budget, citing the University’s failure to address alleged anti-Semitism at campus.
Last Saturday, Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestinian campus activist, was detained by federal immigration authorities and has been facing deportation.
The protests at Columbia University were a part of a larger movement against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
As an act of defiance against being removed by law enforcement agents, students set up tent encampments that quickly spread to other campuses in the US.
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