The US Justice Department is investigating whether individuals involved in last year’s pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University violated federal anti-terrorism laws, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Friday.
The DOJ is investigating “whether Columbia’s handling of earlier instances violated civil rights laws that included terrorism crimes,” Blanche stated in an address to department employees ahead of President Donald Trump’s scheduled speech Friday afternoon. “This is long overdue.”
“Let me make it clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization. Blanche added, “He has the blood of American citizens on his hands.” “Anyone who provides material support for terrorism will be prosecuted. This includes those who threaten or pay Hamas in the United States.
The Justice Department and other federal law enforcement agencies are cracking down on antisemitism, which has sparked uproar at Columbia and civil rights organizations across the country.
One example is the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian refugee whose green card was revoked due to his involvement in protests against the Israel-Hamas war at Columbia last spring.
Blanche also stated that the department is investigating whether Columbia University was harboring or concealing illegal immigrants in the United States.
According to CNN, federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security were on Columbia’s campus in New York Thursday night, serving search warrants in two student rooms.
The university’s interim president stated that “no one was arrested or detained. No items were removed, and no additional action was taken.
