Mahmoud Khalil Runs to the Supreme Court, Hoping for a Judicial Lifeline

Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud "Free Palestine" Khalil is asking the Supreme Court to rescue him from a legal predicament that could allow the Trump administration to arrest him again. After months of legal maneuvering, the Columbia University anti-Semitic scumwafer protest leader is now hoping the nation’s highest court will intervene before immigration authorities get another opportunity to enforce a deportation order against him.

Yes, they hate America but hate it more when told to leave it.

In an X post on Monday, comrade Khalil announced that his legal team had filed a petition, declaring that he has “asked the Supreme Court to affirm that federal courts have the power to hear my case.”

Khalil claims the government has no legitimate case against him and accused the Trump administration of trying to keep federal judges from examining the evidence.

“The government knows all too well that its baseless allegations and smears against me cannot survive the slightest scrutiny in federal court,” the Islamist said. “That’s why it is doing everything it can to keep those courts from looking at my case and to channel it into its kangaroo immigration courts.”

Apparently, when the immigration system produces a result Khalil dislikes, it becomes a kangaroo court. The label is a convenient substitute for addressing the substance of the proceedings, particularly when an immigration judge has already ordered his deportation.

Khalil then broadened his argument into a sweeping warning about free speech, portraying his legal battle as a threat to the constitutional rights of Americans everywhere. Except for the little issue of his not being an American and hating on the government.

“So the question is simple: can the government weaponize immigration laws to punish someone’s speech, then tell federal courts they have no power to step in? If the answer is yes, none of our speech is safe. If the Trump administration can punish someone for pro-Palestine speech, this or any future administration can punish anyone for any speech,” the execrable post-digestive waste of a human said.

That is a dramatic constitutional argument from an activist whose case involves far more than a generic disagreement over political expression. 

Khalil, a Syrian-born green card holder of Palestinian descent, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March 2025 after helping lead anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. The Department of Homeland Security accused him of participating in activities that were “aligned to Hamas.”

The distinction matters. The administration has argued that the immigration consequences of Khalil’s case concern national interests and immigration law, while Khalil insists the government is retaliating against his political speech. His Supreme Court petition seeks to keep federal courts involved in resolving that dispute.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously argued that Khalil’s “presence or activities would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest” and vowed to strip the immigration status of foreign “Hamas supporters.”

“We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” Rubio said.

The administration's position is hardly mysterious. A green card grants a foreign national lawful permanent resident status, but it does not confer immunity from immigration law or guarantee that the government can never seek deportation. The legal question is whether the administration has acted within its authority and whether Khalil can challenge those actions in federal court.

The case has already produced a complicated series of legal reversals and competing proceedings. In June 2025, a federal judge in New Jersey ordered Khalil released from ICE detention. That ruling did not, by itself, resolve the separate question of whether he could ultimately be deported.

In April, the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld an immigration judge’s deportation order. Then, in May, a federal appeals court denied Khalil’s request for a rehearing challenging his detention.

Khalil responded to the appeals court decision by calling it “biased and politically motivated.” His lawyers have maintained that he is pursuing a separate case in federal court and cannot yet be detained or deported.

Now the Supreme Court is being asked to weigh in on whether the federal judiciary can hear his challenge. According to The Hill, the justices will consider whether to take up the case during a closed-door meeting in the coming months. Khalil’s legal team hopes the court will hear it during the current term.

For the Trump administration, the case raises questions about the government's authority to enforce immigration law against foreign nationals whose activities it considers contrary to U.S. interests. For Khalil, it is an opportunity to keep his deportation fight alive and frame the dispute as a landmark battle over free expression.

The Supreme Court has not agreed to hear the case, much less ruled in Khalil’s favor. Until the justices make that decision, his campaign for judicial intervention remains just that: a campaign for another chance in court.

Khalil wants the public to see a free-speech martyr. The administration sees an immigration enforcement case involving alleged activities tied to Hamas. The Supreme Court will have to decide whether the legal questions warrant its attention, not whether either side can produce the most dramatic political narrative.

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Zohran Mamdani's father said Hitler was inspired by Abraham Lincoln

NEW YORK – In yet another shocking discovery that completely baffles anyone who thinks American history textbooks should contain facts rather than anti-capitalist fan fiction, resurfaced footage reveals that Mahmoud Mamdani, the father of New York City's socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, once taught an audience that Adolf Hitler took his notes directly from Abraham Lincoln.

The elder Mamdani, a longtime Ivy League academic who surely bills his revolutionary lectures on a taxpayer-funded credit card, explained during a 2022 panel discussion hosted by the Asia Society that America is essentially the grand-daddy of global mischief.

“With the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln generalized the solution of reservations, they herded American Indians into separate territories,” Mamdani, Columbia’s Herbert Lehman professor of government, said. “For the Nazis, this was the inspiration – Hitler realized two things: one, that genocide is doable. It is possible to do genocide, that’s what Hitler realized. Second thing Hitler realized, is that you don’t have to have a common citizenship.”

Naturally, local socialists are thrilled to learn that their favorite historical villain was apparently inspired by the guy on the five-dollar bill.

According to a cozy profile by the New York Times, the younger Mamdani happily credits his parents for a "privileged upbringing" defined by frequent dinner table chats about how much they despise Western civilization. That elite, trust-fund-adjacent upbringing clearly paid off, as the proud democratic socialist has spent his career fighting bravely for the working class from the comfort of trendy coffee shops.

During the same 2022 academic-circle-jerk, the senior Mamdani doubled down on his unique creative writing exercise by claiming that the racist and antisemitic Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany “were patterned after American laws.” He also bravely informed the room that Allied forces during World War II had the exact same malicious game plan as the Third Reich.

“The Nazi political project was shared by the Allies, and that political project was to turn Germany into a ‘pure’ nation. A ‘pure’ nation rid of its minorities,” Mamdani said at the Asia Society event. “When the Allies defeated the Nazis and went into Eastern Europe, they began to create ‘pure’ nations. To ethnically cleanse Eastern Europe of Germans – move them back into Germany. One crime doesn’t wipe out another.”

Critics digging into the family archive after the younger Mamdani's primary political upset were shocked to find that the apple does not fall far from the tree of campus radicalism. Footage from a 2021 Young Democratic Socialists of America conference features the candidate sternly instructing true believers never to compromise on mundane goals like “seizing the means of production.”

Meanwhile, in his literary classic, “Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror,” the senior Mamdani brilliantly rebrands suicide bombers, arguing that the term is a total misnomer because they are fundamentally identical to any other “soldier[s] whose objective is to kill.”

At press time, the Mamdani family was busy drafting an academic paper proving that George Washington invented traffic jams entirely out of spite.

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Latest study confirms an uncomfortable truth about liberals v conservatives

If you've spent any time arguing with liberals online, you already knew something was off. But now academia has finally caught up after spending twelve years, $8,000,000 in grant money, and at least three emergency therapy llamas trying to figure out why conservatives seem less miserable.

A new study published in the journal Political Behavior reportedly found that “mental illness is emerging as its own political identity and is most heavily aligned with leftist political ideology and causes,” especially among younger Americans whose entire personalities consist of ring lights, pronouns, anxiety disorders, and explaining why capitalism caused Mercury to be in retrograde.

Researchers were stunned to discover conservatives tend to score higher in things like personal agency, religiosity, resilience, self-worth, optimism, and other dangerous extremist behaviors once commonly referred to as “functioning adulthood.”

Meanwhile, researchers noted many liberals continue to identify primarily as “neurospicy,” “trauma-informed,” or “currently processing.”

Columbia University's magazine observed in 2023 that "American adults who identify as politically liberal have long reported lower levels of happiness and psychological well-being than conservatives.” Experts initially blamed climate change, microplastics, Fox News, colonialism, and insufficient emotional support crocheting circles before reluctantly concluding that constantly believing civilization is collapsing and the planet is ready to turn into burnt toast, may not be terrific for mental health.

Scholars from the Universities of Florida and Toronto eventually determined conservatives often benefit from having purpose, accountability, community, and faith, which apparently works far better than posting “Normalize crying at work” on TikTok.

Professor Lauren Van De Hey of Utah State University found that “there is an emerging mental health political identity that is most pronounced among younger (Gen Z) and more liberal Americans."

So it appears that Democrats may have finally discovered a voting bloc even more reliable than vegan cat ladies.

According to the study, nearly half of participants identifying as mentally ill said that identity was very or somewhat important to them personally, just edging out astrology signs and preferred pronouns as core personality traits.

Van De Hey also noted, "I find that the political predictors and political consequences for the emerging mental health identity differ from those for physical disability and serious physical illness categorization and identification."

Conservatives interpreted this to mean one side treats anxiety like a medical condition while the other treats it like a Marvel origin story.

The study further found conservatives are less likely to define anxiety and depression as mental illnesses and are less likely to seek treatment. Van De Hey attributed this to a "personal responsibility ethos: they do not seek help when they think they can resolve the issues on their own." 

What a concept.

The left immediately condemned this dangerous philosophy, warning that independent problem-solving could discourage young Americans from developing lucrative lifelong dependencies on emotional support Discord servers.

Observers also noted the striking similarity between the left’s approach to gender politics and its increasingly activist approach to mental health. First Americans were encouraged to build identities around sexuality and gender confusion. Now they're encouraged to build identities around emotional instability.

Critics say the formula is simple: take a struggle, turn it into an identity, transform the identity into a political movement, then declare anyone questioning it a fascist.

Van De Hey warned, "These findings have far-reaching consequences for mental health advocacy, and the role mental health identity will play in the political sphere, especially as Gen Z matures as a cohort."

Political strategists reportedly agreed, noting that a permanently anxious, emotionally fragile electorate is much easier to manipulate than a population busy raising families, going to church, and mowing their lawns without needing a therapist on standby.

At publishing time, several progressive activists announced the article itself had caused “literal harm” and demanded taxpayers fund an emergency recovery retreat featuring drum circles, vegan snacks, and federally subsidized crying tents.

Literally.

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Turkish student at Tufts sent back home after writing anti-Semitic op-ed

Enjoy your life in Turkey, Rumeysa

Turkish Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was held in ICE detention last year after her visa was revoked over alleged “activities in support of Hamas,” has returned home to Turkey following a legal settlement with the United States.The State Department canceled Ozturk’s student visa in 2024 after she co-authored an op-ed in her college newspaper calling on Tufts to recognize the “Palestinian genocide” and to divest from companies with ties to Israel.

In March 2025, ICE agents arrested Ozturk while walking on a street in Somerville, MA. She spent six weeks in federal custody before a judge ordered her release.

The government appealed the decision, but the case ultimately ended in a settlement after Ozturk completed her PhD in child study and human development.

Under the agreement, Ozturk returned to Turkey “without further interference by the Department of Homeland Security,” according to the ACLU.

“The time stolen from me by the U.S. government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I have dedicated my life to advocating for,” she said in a statement released by the ACLU. “With them in mind, I am choosing to return home as planned to continue my career as a woman scholar without losing more time to the state-imposed violence and hostility I have experienced in the United States all for nothing more than co-signing an op-ed advocating for Palestinian rights.”The resolution is welcome news to the Trump administration, which has taken a more aggressive approach toward foreign students involved in anti-Israel activism.

“Attending elite colleges and universities in the United States is a privilege afforded to foreign students who respect our values and follow our laws,” a Justice Department official said in a statement to Politico. “We will continue to seek the deportation of any foreign student who abuses their opportunity to study in America by engaging in vile antisemitism, harassment, or other illegal behavior.”

Ozturk’s detention became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts and emphasis on stopping antisemitism on college campuses.

Esha Bhandari, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, accused the government of violating the Constitution.

“Rumeysa should never have been detained for expressing her opinions in a country that is supposed to protect freedom of speech,” Bhandari said.

As of early 2026, the State Department has revoked more than 100,000 visas, including roughly 8,000 student visas.In a separate case, Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian green card holder who led anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, recently lost a bid to have his deportation case thrown out.

“The bottom line is if you come here to stir up trouble on our campuses, we will deny you a visa,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last year. “These kids pay money to go to school, and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas.”

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DHS Drops the Hammer: Mahmoud Khalil's Algerian Vacation Is About to Get Real

Last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals did what appellate courts occasionally remember to do: side with sanity and smack down a lower-court judge who thought he could play king of the immigration hill. The ruling was a clean win for the Trump administration in the long-running deportation saga of former Columbia University darling Mahmoud Khalil.

Khalil, the 30-year-old Syrian-born so-called Palestinian activist who's spent the better part of the last year lawyering his way out of consequences, got nabbed by ICE back in March. He cooled his heels in a Louisiana detention facility until June, when a New Jersey judge decided he was special and ordered him sprung. 

Turns out, that judge was swinging way above his pay grade. The appeals court politely informed him that no, he didn't have the authority to issue such a ruling. Shocking, I know, but judges have been misjudging their absolute power since there had been laws on the books.

Now comes the fun part. A top Department of Homeland Security official spilled the beans to NewsNation's Katie Pavlich: Khalil's about to get rearrested and shipped off to beautiful, sunny Algeria.

Mahmoud Khalil, the Syrian-born activist the Trump administration has sought to deport over pro-Palestinian demonstrations he helped organize in New York, will be retaken into custody and sent to the North African country of Algeria, a top official with the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.

Khalil and his attorneys have spent months playing constitutional whack-a-mole with the White House's efforts to remove the green card holder, who is of Palestinian heritage, insisting it would violate the Constitution. An appellate court decision last week, however, was widely seen as a victory for the Trump administration.

"It looks like he'll go to Algeria. That's what the thought is right now," said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs.

"It's a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card. You are a guest in this country, act like it," McLaughlin said.

The Trump team has been saying since early last year that Khalil was providing support to Hamas and that he got creative with the truth on his residency paperwork. Khalil, never one to go quietly, has countersued the administration for $20 million, claiming false imprisonment and "malicious prosecution." Because nothing says "I'm being persecuted" like organizing campus chaos and then crying foul when the bill comes due.

Look, this isn't rocket science. You come here as a guest, whether on a visa or a green card, and decide the best use of your time is helping organize protests that cozy up to terrorist sympathizers and generally make life miserable for everyone else, don't be surprised when the door hits you in the butt on the way out. McLaughlin nailed it: act like a guest. Or don't. 

But Algeria is waiting, and it doesn't do campus tents and chants.

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Score one for borders, rule of law, and not letting Ivy League protest tourism turn into permanent residency. Welcome back to reality, folks. It's refreshing out here.

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Columbia U Finally Grows a Pair, Punishes Anti-Israel Radicals—But Don’t Hold Your Breath for a Kumbaya Moment

Columbia University, that overpriced bastion of ivory tower lunacy, has finally decided to stop coddling the keffiyeh-wearing, library-storming Hamasshole sympathizers that turned its campus into a wannabe Gaza reenactment. 

Fast forward, and the New York Post reports that Columbia finally dropped the hammer on over 70 students who mistook "free speech" for "let's trash the place." The punishment turned out to be suspensions ranging from one to three years for over 80% of the rioters, with a handful getting the boot entirely via expulsion. Some had their degrees revoked, others got probation. Apparently, storming Butler Library during finals in May and squatting on campus like it's Coachella for chaos isn’t part of the core curriculum. 

"Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community. And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies and rules,” a Columbia spokesperson said, probably while praying this doesn’t spark another tantrum. “Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of university policies and rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences." 

The university dropped the news on Monday, keeping the naughty list under wraps because of privacy laws, per the Post. They’re also patting themselves on the back for their shiny new University Judicial Board, with the spokesperson crowing, "The speed with which our updated UJB system has offered an equitable resolution to the community and students involved is a testament to the hard work of this institution to improve its processes." Sure, Jan, let’s see if it sticks.

Here’s the bigger picture: Columbia has been bleeding federal cash since the Trump administration pulled billions in funding, largely because the school treated campus antisemitism like it was just another Tuesday. Now they're begging the White House to reconsider, but good luck with that when Jewish students are still dodging hostility like it's a contact sport. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, isn’t buying the "we’ve changed" act.

"Columbia has more progress to make before Jewish students can truly feel safe on its campus," Walberg said, cutting through the fluff. "The committee’s work has underscored the depth and breadth of antisemitism at Columbia that can’t be ignored." He added, "We will continue to investigate anti-Semitism at Columbia and other universities and develop legislative solutions to address this persistent problem," he stated. "Our nation’s institutions of higher education must fulfill their legal obligations under federal anti-discrimination law."

Look, suspending a bunch of entitled radicals is a start, but Columbia’s got a long way to go before it’s anything but a poster child for academic dysfunction. Jewish students deserve better than navigating a campus that feels like a gauntlet, and taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for this circus. Walberg’s right, fix it, or face the consequences. Until then, don’t expect anyone to applaud Columbia’s half-measures.

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Photo of Mamdani infuriates some Italian-Americans in NYC and outrage from key voting bloc.

Mamdani gives middle finger to Christopher Columbus statue

New York City’s mayoral race just got spicier than a bodega hot sausage. A resurfaced photo of Democrat/Communist candidate Zohran Mamdani giving the one-finger salute to a Christopher Columbus statue in Astoria is lighting up the internet and pissing off Italian-Americans like it’s 1492 all over again. 

Back in June 2020, Mamdani dropped this gem on social media: "Take it down," alongside a shot of what’s gotta be his gloved hand flipping off the Italian explorer’s statue.  Around the same time, this guy’s out here polling his followers on who should replace Columbus, tossing out names like "Tony Bennett (Astoria native, music icon), Walter Audisio (Communist partisan, killed Mussolini), Sacco & Vanzetti (Executed due to anti-Italian sentiment)." Guess who won? Sacco and Vanzetti, the anarcho-communist duo executed in ’27. Shocker.

Some Italians are as angry as a bag of cobras, per the New York Post. 

Columbus Heritage Coalition President Angelo Vivolo came out swinging: "We will defend Columbus Day and Columbus statues." He added, "He is being disrespectful to the Italian American community. If you offend one community, you offend all communities." Damn straight, Angelo. You should hear what this POS says about Israel.

Joseph Scelsa, bigwig at the Italian American Museum, chimed in, pointing out that Italians make up 8% of NYC’s population. "To eliminate such a large population of people would be a travesty," he said. "It’s not inclusive. It’s exclusionary. Who’s to say who is a hero and who is not a hero? Columbus is our hero." 

Preach, Joe. Don’t let some wannabe revolutionary erase your history.The conservative X crowd’s also losing their minds. Actor Joe Piscopo kept it short: "Not gonna happen." YouTuber Joey Salads went harder: "This guy needs to be stopped." Journalist Megan Basham nailed it: "The most defining characteristic of the left is ingratitude." Former Trump official Ezra A. Cohen didn’t hold back: "He disrespects the critical role Italians and Catholics played in the founding of our nation. Shameful." Florida GOP Chair Evan Power? Straight to the point: "What a disgusting socialist."

Did I mention Mamdani is a equal opportunity hater?

Mamdani does a Peter Strzok

Then there’s the heavy hitters. Mike Benz, Foundation for Freedom Online exec, went nuclear: "so u can be a nepo baby anchor baby who's never had a job in your life and potentially become mayor of America's largest city simply on the force of hating white people hard enough." 

Federalist CEO Sean Davis? No mercy: "This communist clown needs to be sent back."

What this really goes to show is that Mamdani is not very bright. That is, he isn't smart enough to hide his anti-American, anti-Zionist/Semitic hatred. 

Strzok does a Mamdani

He is also a liar having alleged on his Columbia U. application that he is half-Black as well as half-Asian. The truth is both his parents are from India and while he was born in Kampala, Uganda, that doesn't make him Black. He is Asian but thought if he lied, he would stand a better chance getting into Columbia, but his SAT score wasn't high enough and he failed to get in.

Mamdani's post is still up on his X as of Tuesday morning, so he’s clearly not sweating it. This dude, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, already shook up the game by snagging the Democratic primary last month, despite a platform that’s basically a love letter to left-wing fever dreams, including past calls to defund the police. 

Now he’s gearing up to slug it out in November’s general election against heavyweights like Mayor Eric Adams (running independent), GOP’s Curtis Sliwa, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Hopefully the latter two candidates will have the wisdom to bow out and allow Adams a better chance to beat this weasel.

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Zohran Mamdani’s Professor Pops Drops a Bombshell: Hitler Took Cues from Lincoln?

Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani’s got some family baggage that’s raising eyebrows. His dad, Mahmood Mamdani, a big-shot Columbia prof, dropped a wild claim in a 2022 Asia Society panel, tying none other than Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler’s playbook for the Holocaust. Yeah, you read that right.

Zohran, the self-described socialist gunning for NYC’s top job, grew up with a silver spoon and a side of spicy political debates, courtesy of his parents, according to a New York Times profile. His mom’s an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, and his dad’s no slouch either, a Herbert Lehman professor of government at Columbia, with a stack of books to his name. 

But it’s Papa Mamdani’s 2022 comments that are stirring the pot.

"America was the genesis of what we call settler-colonialism," Mahmood declared at the Asia Society, pointing to the Civil War. "With the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln generalized the solution of reservations, they herded American Indians into separate territories. For the Nazis, this was the inspiration. Hitler realized two things: one, that genocide is doable. It is possible to do genocide, that's what Hitler realized. Second thing Hitler realized, is that you don't have to have a common citizenship."

Mahmood didn’t stop there. He claimed Nazi Germany’s Nuremberg Laws, yes, the racist, anti-Semitic ones, were “patterned after American laws.” He even argued there’s no daylight between “nationalism and colonialism” and that the Allies in WWII were basically on the same wavelength as the Nazis. "The Nazi political project was shared by the Allies, and that political project was to turn Germany into a ‘pure’ nation. A ‘pure’ nation rid of its minorities," he said. "When the Allies defeated the Nazis and went into Eastern Europe, they began to create ‘pure’ nations. To ethnically cleanse Eastern Europe of Germans – move them back into Germany. One crime doesn't wipe out another." 

But the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and critics are digging up Zohran’s own radical gems. At a 2021 Young Democratic Socialists of America [aka Communists] conference, he rallied the crowd to go all-in, no compromises, on stuff like "seizing the means of production." Classic. 

Then there’s a Gravel Institute video where he pushes for turning housing into a public free-for-all, ditching luxury condos for communal laundries and food co-ops. "If we want to end the housing crisis, the solution has to be moving toward the full de-commodification of housing," he preached.

But back to Dad. 

Mahmood’s got more head-scratchers. In an interview about his book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, he argued the term "suicide bomber" is bunk because they’re just like "soldier[s] whose objective is to kill." And as per the Washington Free Beacon, he’s even called Israel "the logical conclusion of Nazism." 

Bold move, professor. You make Columbia University proud.

The Mamdani clan’s no stranger to the spotlight. But as Zohran surges in the mayoral race, these fiery family takes are fueling questions about what kind of leader he’d be. In all probability, a horrible, leftist anti-Semitic mayor.

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NY Times Scrambles to Justify Shady Hit Piece on Mamdani’s College App

If he becomes NYC's mayor, this would be his first real job

Birdcage liner, The New York Times, is in full-on crisis mode, trying to mop up the mess from a story about NYC communist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s 2009 Columbia application, where he checked “Asian” and “Black or African American” for race. The piece sparked a firestorm, and now the Times is backpedaling like Michael Jackson on speed doing a reverse moonwalk.

Patrick Healy, the Times’ assistant managing editor for Standards and Trust (ironic title, right?), took to X to douse the flames after “reader feedback” called out the story’s sketchy vibes. 

“Our reporters obtained information about Mr. Mamdani’s Columbia college application and went to the Mamdani campaign with it. When we hear anything of news value, we try to confirm it through direct sources, [unless it's something negative about Trump]. Mr. Mamdani confirmed this information in an interview with The Times,” Healy posted, acting like this was just routine journalism.

Here’s the deal: Mamdani, was born in Uganda, and felt boxed in by the application’s racial categories, so he wrote in his country of origin. Fair enough. But the Times got their hands on his application after a cyberattack on Columbia leaked sensitive information. Healy swears they didn’t “solely rely” on the hacked data, claiming they verified it with Mamdani himself. Sure, Patty, that makes it all squeaky clean.

Healy’s defense: “We believe Mr. Mamdani’s thinking and decision-making, laid out in his words, was newsworthy and in line with our mission to help readers better know and understand top candidates for major offices.” 

Translation: “We thought this would make him look bad, so we ran with it.”The backlash was swift. Keith Olbermann, never one to hold back, obliterated the Times on X: “Your absolute abrogation of the NYT standards would in a better era there have led the full range of you in management to resign. Utter failure. Then again, if you don't realize NYT is perceived as actively campaigning against Mamdani, you're all lost anyway.” 

The irony is, the Times didn't need to try making this communist, Jew-hating Hamas supporter look bad; he is capable of doing that on his own.

Then there’s the Times’ own columnist, Jamelle Bouie, who went rogue on Bluesky, torching his colleagues. Responding to a post slamming his colleague reporter Benjamin Ryan, Bouie wrote, “Everything I have seen about him screams a guy with little to no actual brain activity.” Savage ad hominem if ever there was one.  

But after his spicy takes, Bouie backtracked, deleting his posts and meekly stating, “I deleted several posts about a Times story because they violated Times social media standards.” Gotta love that self-own.

The Times didn’t respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, and Bouie’s keeping mum too. Meanwhile, the whole mess smells like a desperate attempt to smear Mamdani while pretending it’s “journalism.” Classic Times—digging for dirt, then acting shocked when it blows up in their face.

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Columbia gifts flaming anti-Semite named Jasmine

The former institution of higher learning, Columbia University, has given Farah Jasmine Griffin an award for highest academic distinction. "Nobody supports BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel) and calls for the end of Israel like Farah. Nobody," said anonymous sources associated with Columbia.

The so called "school" bestowed the BDS maven to the position of "University Professor," the former school's "highest academic distinction," that was historically given when the school was academically distinct.

Columbia president Claire Shipman bragged that Griffin is "a scholar of rare breadth and clarity," as to her clear take on the need to destroy the Jewish state and every person who dwells within it. 

"The Ship Lady" as her students lovingly call Columbia's president, expressed her appreciation of how Griffin has always been outspoken about her feelings regarding the, you know, um, the Jews and Israel.

Columbia University’s latest move is raising eyebrows, and not in a good way. The school has just named Professor Joseph Massad, sorry, University Professor Joseph Massad, as one of its most distinguished scholars, despite a resume that reads like a BDS activist’s dream journal. This comes as Columbia’s new president, is scrambling to mend fences with the Trump administration, which has slashed over $430 million in federal funding and put the university’s accreditation on thin ice. 

Talk about timing.

Massad’s history is, shall we say, colorful. Back in 2002, he signed a divestment petition targeting Israel, which didn’t exactly win him fans among Columbia’s then-president Lee Bollinger. Fast forward to 2016, and Massad was at it again, putting his name on a faculty petition that accused Israel of “inhumane segregation and systemic forms of discrimination” and demanded Columbia divest “from corporations that supply, perpetuate, and profit from a system that has subjugated the Palestinian people for over 68 years.” 

That’s not exactly a neutral stance on a contentious issue and it fails to mention October 7, 2023 and the little misunderstanding that happened in Israel that day.

Then there’s last spring’s chaos. Photos surfaced showing Massad allegedly playing protest marshal at Columbia’s illegal encampment, a hot mess of a demonstration that disrupted campus life. His job was to stand guard and shielding student protesters. Massad denies it, but the optics aren’t great for a guy now crowned with Columbia’s highest academic honor.

To become a University Professor, you need the blessing of Columbia’s academic elite, and a penchant for anti-Semitism and communism. 

The faculty handbook is crystal clear: Candidates “are nominated to the Trustees by the President on the recommendation of the Provost and with the affirmative advice of the tenured members of the Executive Committee of the University Senate.” That committee’s chairwoman, tenured professor Jeanine D’Armiento, was a vocal cheerleader for last year’s encampment. Cozy, right? 

The handbook also gushes that University Professors are “exceptional scholars with the highest distinction who have served the University extensively.” Only eight can hold the title at once, making it Columbia’s equivalent of academic knighthood and more recently a jihad.

But not everyone’s rolling out the red carpet. 

Lishi Baker, a Columbia senior studying Middle Eastern history, isn’t buying the hype. “I’m all for viewpoint diversity,” he told the Washington Free Beacon, “but if Columbia is trying to change the culture on campus, they should reward faculty whose contributions don’t come with anti-Semitism, discrimination, or disruption.” 

Eden Yadegar, a recent Columbia grad and former president of Columbia Students Supporting Israel, piled on. “Granting the university’s highest honor to a faculty member with a known and extensive record of anti-Semitic discrimination,” she said, “is the very antithesis of the sort of action Columbia should be taking if they truly are committed to positive change.” 

Columbia, predictably, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Massad’s activism doesn’t stop at BDS. He’s also gone to bat for Steven Salaita, the English professor whose job offer from the University of Illinois got yanked after he defended Hamas and called supporters of Israel sociopaths. Massad’s response? He pledged to boycott the university and someone yelled Al's snackbar.

Back in 2005, shortly after joining Columbia, Massad served on a faculty committee investigating claims that Middle Eastern studies professors were intimidating Jewish students. The committee’s report? A big fat “nothing to see here.” Some Jewish students cried foul, accusing Massad and the committee of bias. Go figure.

This all lands as Columbia’s trying to claw back its federal funding, which they so richly don't deserve.

In March, the university rolled out policy changes to appease the Trump administration, which called them “preconditions” for “long-term” funding talks. No deal yet, though, and Shipman’s last update on June 12 didn’t exactly brim with optimism. “In my view, it is essential to restore our research partnership with the government, if possible,” she said. “Our red lines remain the same and are defined by who we are and what we stand for. We must maintain our autonomy and independent governance. We decide who teaches at our institution, what they teach, and which students we admit.” 

Noble words, but honoring Massad might not scream “we’re serious about reform.”

To top it off, Columbia’s accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, dropped a bombshell the same day as Massad’s appointment. The university’s “accreditation may be in jeopardy because of insufficient evidence that the institution is currently in compliance with Standard II (Ethics and Integrity),” they wrote, just weeks after the Trump administration flagged similar issues. 

Ethics and integrity? Maybe Columbia’s handbook needs a new chapter.

If Shipman’s goal was to signal a fresh start, elevating Massad seems like a curious way to go. At a time when Columbia’s begging for federal dollars and accreditation grace, handing a gilded title to a professor with a track record of divisive activism might just be the academic equivalent of stepping on a rake. 

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Columbia U. protester linked directly to Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades: DOJ says

"This is the finger I use for my nose," Bazrouk bragged

In a shocking revelation, The New York Post has exposed the Naziesque ties of Tarek Bazrouk, a vile "Jew-hater" who wreaked havoc on Columbia University’s campus with anti-Israel protests and allegedly plotted to set a Jewish student ablaze. 

This scumcrumpet, now facing federal hate crime charges, was reportedly linked directly to Hamas’ murderous al-Qassam Brigades, receiving regular updates from their mouthpiece, Abu Obeida, according to federal documents. 

This is the smoking gun proving Hamas’ tentacles slither onto American soil, manipulating agitators like Bazrouk to sow chaos and hatred against Jews.

Bazrouk, a 20-year-old New Yorker with no ties to Columbia as a student, strutted around campus sporting the green headband of Hamas terrorists, bragging to his pinhead pals about his overseas relatives in the terror group, prosecutors allege. His phone was a cesspool of pro-Hamasshole and pro-Hezbollah propaganda, glorifying the scum who’ve slaughtered thousands of Jews and Israelis, attacked Americans, and openly vow to annihilate both Israel and the U.S. 

Among the filth was a photo of the now dead Yahya Sinwar, the al-Qassam mastermind behind the barbaric Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, and a meme drooling over the brigades: “By God I would not trade the Al Qassam Brigades for the world and everything in it. May God be pleased with them and allow them to break the wicked enemy through him.”

This Nazi’s hatred ran deep. 

Court documents reveal texts where he proudly called himself a “Jew hater,” branded Jews “worthless,” begged “Allah” to “get us rid of [Jews],” and hurled slurs like “F**king Jew” at an acquaintance. He even told a friend to “slap that bitch” over a woman with an Israeli sticker on her laptop. 

During Columbia’s April 2024 protests, Bazrouk allegedly texted a buddy about lighting a flare and wanting to burn someone, only stopping because “too many” people were around, otherwise he “would’ve hurted [sic] them.” His depravity, and his lack of proper English, knew no bounds. He is accused of punching Jewish student Jonathan Lederer in the face while ranting about Hitler and Nazis, stealing his brother’s flag in a deranged outburst near campus on Dec. 9, 2024.

But Bazrouk’s alleged crime spree didn’t stop there. 

He’s charged with three hate crimes for attacks on Jews, including lunging at a group with Israeli flags at a Gaza war protest outside the New York Stock Exchange on April 15, 2024, and kicking a Jewish student in the stomach as cops dragged him away. On Jan. 6, 2025, he allegedly punched another protester draped in an Israeli flag near Union Square, his face masked with a keffiyeh. Despite arrests, this predator “remained undeterred,” returning to “using violence to target Jews in New York City,” said US Attorney Jay Clayton.

When feds searched Bazrouk’s Manhattan home, where he lived with family, they uncovered a replica firearm, spent shell casings, brass knuckles, a switchblade, a hunting knife, and a staggering $750,000 in cash stashed in a safe. His defense claims the money came from his job at a Connecticut smoke shop, but this was no innocent clerk. 

Bazrouk was arrested there in December 2024 for “operating a drug factory” with $25,000 in marijuana products.

Columbia, plagued by masked anti-Israel agitators in 2024, was forced to call in the NYPD to clear out these radical cretins, who even illegally seized a university building. NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban nailed it, pointing to “professional outside agitators” like Bazrouk fueling the chaos. 

The university distanced itself, stating it has “no record of Bazrouk being on campus” and “strongly condemns anti-Semitism,” emphasizing he’s not affiliated with them. Yet, Hamas’ shadow looms large. A lawsuit reveals the terror group taunted Israeli hostage Shlomi Ziv with images of Columbia’s anti-Semitic protests, boasting of operatives on U.S. campuses.

Bazrouk’s alleged trips to the West Bank and Jordan in late 2024 raise seriously chilling questions about his activities there. Prosecutors, building their case, say he’s a “danger to the community” with his “support for terrorist groups,” “avowed hatred of Jews,” and arsenal of weapons. 

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He has been denied bail, he’s been caged since May 7, 2025, facing only up to 30 years if convicted. His lawyer, Andrew Dalack, weakly denies any Hamas connection but offers no real defense, mainly due to the fact that the evidence is overwhelming.

This isn’t an isolated case. Jewish groups and the Anti-Defamation League’s Oren Segal warn that Hamas and Hezbollah’s influence festers in U.S. protests, with their flags waved shamelessly. Bazrouk’s actions expose the ugly truth: anti-Israel campus chaos isn’t just misguided activism, it’s a front for terror-backed hatred targeting Jews and Israel’s right to exist.

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Pro-Hamas dolts learn things have changed this year: there's a new sheriff in town

Oh, look at the ivory towers crumbling under the weight of their own sanctimonious balderdash. Over 100 anti-Israel, pro-Hamasshole wannabe revolutionaries got the cuffs slapped on at Columbia, Swarthmore, and the University of Washington. Campus and local cops swooped in like the fun police at a vegan barbecue, breaking up the chaos faster than you can say “divestment tantrum.”

At Columbia, these brainiacs thought storming Butler Library was peak activism, disrupting students cramming for finals so badly they had to flee. Eighty of these keyboard warriors were hauled off in zip ties. ICE was there, too, playing “Guess the Visa Status” with the pro-Hamas crowd, checking if any of these disruptors were non-citizens about to get a one-way ticket home. 

The State Department, not messing around, dropped a gem: “Foreign university students in America have been put on notice: if you break the law or support terrorism in our country, we will revoke your visa. This administration will not tolerate noncitizens causing mayhem on our college campuses.” Ouch. Bet that stung harder than a rejected Pell Grant.

This is a 180 from Columbia’s spineless performance last year, when they let protesters set up a tent city, storm classrooms, take over admin buildings, and harass Jewish students and faculty like it was a sanctioned extracurricular. 

This time, acting President Claire Shipman, probably sweating buckets, called in the NYPD after the protesters’ “substantial chaos” and “serious risk to our students and campus safety.” Her words, not mine. She even saw two security guards getting patched up after being roughed up and described Butler’s reading room—Columbia’s pride and joy—looking like it got a makeover by a toddler with a spray can: “defaced and damaged in disturbing ways and with disturbing slogans.”

What changed? Two words: Donald Trump. 

The man’s shadow looms large, and suddenly, schools are feeling the heat. The threat of yanking grants and federal goodies has universities clutching their pearls, debating whether they can keep coddling bad behavior. Spoiler: they can’t. They’ve had years to stop punishing free speech, protect Jewish students, and follow civil rights laws that don’t play favorites with race. But nah, they’d rather navel-gaze and call it “dialogue.”

Over at the University of Washington, protesters thought occupying an engineering building and demanding Boeing divestment was their moment. They set dumpster fires, blocked exits, and caused $1 million in damage to an equipment room, per the Washington State Standard. Thirty of them got arrested, and three federal agencies piled on the next day, announcing a review of the school’s federal grants. Their message? “The university must do more to deter future violence and guarantee that Jewish students have a safe and productive learning environment.” Translation: get your act together, or kiss your funding goodbye.

Swarthmore’s no better. 

Nine students got nabbed trying to set up a tent city for their suspended Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. President Val Smith, sounding like she was over it, said, “I felt we had no choice but to seek outside assistance from local law enforcement,” especially since non-student randos tried crashing the party.

Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, born from a February executive order, gave Shipman a gold star, calling her statement “strong and resolute.” They added, “We concur with Acting President Shipman that what happened was utterly unacceptable, which is precisely why the American people are demanding that the administration act to implement meaningful and enforceable commitments to enforce civil rights laws with institutions that receive taxpayer dollars.” 

In other words, Columbia, you’re not getting your $400 million in grants back, so maybe stop acting like a petulant child.

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Katherine S. Cho, some professor from Loyola Chicago, whines that universities like Columbia are “under high surveillance” and can’t treat protests as “a mechanism of learning, conversation, and civic engagement” anymore. What were they going to learn? How to support terrorists?

Last year, they were “teaching moments”; now, they’re problems to squash. Maybe that’s because setting fires and trashing libraries isn’t exactly Socratic dialogue.

These schools are living in a parallel universe where consequences don’t exist. Maybe these crackdowns will drag them back to reality, where the rest of us deal with things like laws and accountability. 

Don’t hold your breath, though—academia’s got a Ph.D. in denial.

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Columbia Students arrested after storming library: some are repeaters including student who demanded humanitarian aid

Pro-Hamassholes

Well, folks, the Ivy League’s gone full circus again. At least six Columbia students nabbed for storming a university library on Wednesday are old hands at this game, including one genius who demanded “humanitarian aid” from the school, according to a Washington Free Beacon dig. These repeat offenders were already slapped on the wrist for prior campus raids or last spring’s tent-city shenanigans.

Out of 81 total arrests, 44 are Columbia kids, 13 hail from Barnard College (Columbia’s sister school), and one Barnard staffer, Eva-Quenby Johnson, got cuffed too. Oh, and two students from Union Theological Seminary, another Columbia affiliate, joined the party.

This masked crew didn’t just waltz in. They roughed up two security guards, handed out pamphlets cheering Hamas’s violence, trashed the library, and rechristened it after Basel al-Araj, a Palestinian terrorist who met his maker in a 2017 shootout with Israeli forces. Classy.

Columbia’s security team locked the exits, told the radicals to flash their IDs and skedaddle or face cuffs. After a few hours of defiance, the university called their bluff, and NYPD rolled in, zip-tying the troublemakers and herding them onto a bus.

Let’s meet some of these all-stars.

Ramona Sarsgaard

Yep, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s kid, Ramona Sarsgaard, was among the anti-Israel crowd hauled off by NYPD. Maggie, a Columbia grad herself, once gushed about her daughter’s eco-warrior cred. “She, like many, many children, isn’t able to push out of her mind the dire situation that we’re in,” Gyllenhaal told People in 2019, when Ramona was 13. “They’re really concerned and upset, demanding that the grownups pay attention. My daughter did that to me and it took me a minute.”

Guess saving the planet didn’t stop Ramona from rocking a tan leather getup at Paris Fashion Week in January. Priorities, right? She’s also got Hollywood royalty in her corner—her uncle Jake Gyllenhaal, inspired by Ramona and her sister, co-wrote a 2023 book about aunts and uncles. Cute.
Serial Building Stormers

At least four of the arrested students are no strangers to campus chaos. Columbia’s Symmes Cannon and Hannah Puelle got pinched and suspended for storming Barnard’s Millstein Library in March, clashing with cops when they refused to bounce. No word on whether their suspensions stuck. Another student, Gabrielle Wimer, was back in class by mid-April after a similar stunt, per the Free Beacon.

Then there’s Marianne Almero, a fresh Columbia grad, and Barnard’s Samarra Sankar, both nabbed for raiding Hamilton Hall last spring. Almero’s resume includes interning at the Urban Indigenous Collective, where she pushed “social justice advocacy to decolonize education institutions, climate justice, incarceration and police systems, and health accessibility.” The Manhattan DA dropped most charges, and Columbia disciplined the culprits—nearly a year later. Swift justice, huh?

Two more Columbia students, Johannah King-Slutzky and Anjali Vishwanath, got detained and suspended for last year’s encampment. King-Slutzky, a doctoral student, became a meme for demanding “humanitarian aid” and “a glass of water” for the radicals occupying Hamilton. She didn’t join that takeover but was arrested at the encampment earlier and still taught a “Contemporary Western Civilization” course last fall. Gotta love Ivy League standards. Vishwanath, from Columbia’s School of Social Work, called it “an honor to be arrested and suspended for Palestine.” This year, she’s part of Columbia’s Action Lab for Social Justice, which aims to “uproot systems of oppression.” Subtle.

Sueda Polat

Sueda Polat, a Columbia grad student in human rights, played negotiator for last spring’s encampment, repping Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), the campus’s most rabidly anti-Semitic group. She teamed up with Mahmoud Khalil, a protest leader currently in ICE custody, to bully Columbia into ditching Israel by “any available means necessary.” Polat also rubbed elbows with CUAD’s Khymani James, who’s openly fantasized about “murdering Zionists.” Charming company.

Dalia Darazim

Dalia Darazim, a sophomore studying Middle Eastern studies, took to the Columbia Spectator in January 2024 to blast her school and classmates for not going hard enough against Israel post-Oct. 7. “I realized that for my peers in the human rights major, Palestine was not a part of their self-proclaimed efforts for social justice,” she wrote. “I realized that not only was the Palestinian cause not included in anyone’s agenda, but Palestinians themselves had no place on Columbia’s campus.”

Darazim, who joined last spring’s encampment, doubled down in a June 10 Spectator op-ed, accusing reporters asking about Jews feeling unsafe of enabling genocide. “Time after time, I took a deep breath, and delivered a thoughtful, diplomatic answer in response to this genocide-enabling question—a question that deliberately denies Palestinians the right to narrative by centering college campuses and their students over the ongoing slaughter in Gaza,” she wrote. “No American college student’s feelings should be centered over Palestinian lives.” Diplomacy at its finest.

Sumera Subzwari

Sumera Subzwari, a grad student at Columbia’s Teachers College, calls herself a “disabled mushroom forager.” In an April 2024 piece, she explained her fungi obsession: “I fell in love with mushrooms because they align so clearly with disability justice. Disabled folks exist outside of what society considers ‘normal,’ and mushrooms are just the same—thriving through nonconformity.” Deep. She also snagged a Vegan Women Summit scholarship in 2023. Mushroom foraging and vegan cred? She’s living the dream.

None of these geniuses responded to requests for comment, and Columbia’s staying mum. Shocker.

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Hamas-supporting anarchist take over Columbia U. library during finals

Over a hundred masked anti-Israel, Jew-hating protesters stormed Columbia University’s Butler Library like a pack of wolves, shoving past campus security and turning the place into their personal soapbox. Finals are looming, but these folks don’t care— they’ve got a point to make.

Non-protesting students, just trying to cram for exams, told Fox News they were forced to ditch their books and leave. “We were studying, and now we’re out here,” one student fumed.

The protesters? They’re riding hard for Mahmoud Khalil, the alleged mastermind of Columbia’s pro-Palestinian chaos, plus other students in the mix. They’ve slapped flyers everywhere, boldly dubbing Butler Library the “Basel Al-Araj Popular University.” Oh, and that “liberation zone”? Yeah, they’re claiming that too.

Inside, it’s a circus. Students say the protesters are climbing desks, hollering “Free Palestine,” and demanding Columbia cut ties with Israel. Some worry this is just the prelude to another encampment popping up like last year’s mess.

 
Campus cops aren’t playing. Public safety officials reportedly cornered the masked crew, telling them they’re stuck in the library until they flash ID cards. No ID, no exit. Tough luck.

Columbia’s not having it. A university spokesperson dropped a verbal hammer on Wednesday: “These disruptions of our campus and academic activities will not be tolerated.”

“Unfortunately, the University is dealing with a disruption in reading room 301 of Butler Library. Columbia’s Public Safety Team is responding and working to mitigate the situation,” the spokesperson said. “Individuals have been asked for identification, which will be recorded, and asked to disperse. They have been told that failure to comply will result in violations of our rules and policies and possible arrest.

“No individuals who have been protesting in the reading room have chosen, at this point, to identify themselves and depart. Individuals who were not involved in the protest have been allowed to leave,” they added. “While this is isolated to one room in the library, it is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams.

“These disruptions of our campus and academic activities will not be tolerated,” the statement doubled down. “Individuals found to be in violation of University Rules and policies will face disciplinary consequences. We ask our community members to please avoid the immediate area near Butler Library in the near term.”

This isn’t Columbia’s first such situation.. 

Last month, the university warned it’d rip down any new encampments and maybe even cuff troublemakers if they tried pulling last year’s stunts again. Those protests saw students seize Hamilton Hall, clash with riot-gear-clad cops, and end with over 200 arrests. It all kicked off after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which left 1,200 dead and sparked global outrage.

Columbia’s brass made it clear: set up tents, you’re outta here. “Authorities would immediately take steps to remove tents or other structures and tell demonstrators to disperse,” they said. Free speech? Sure, they’re all for it— but follow the rules, or it’s game over.

The drama’s already cost the university big. President Minouche Shafik bailed after taking heat for months over her handling of the protests, which often spiraled into ugly clashes and fueled accusations of antisemitism on campus.

 
Then there’s the money. Trump yanked $400 million in grants from Columbia in March, citing the antisemitism surge. That hit hard, forcing the university to bend to some demands just to claw back funding.

Columbia’s walking a tightrope, and the library’s just the latest battleground.

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Columbia U. lays off 180 staff since Trump admin revokes their grants

Columbia University’s getting hit hard. The Ivy League giant’s slashing about 180 jobs this week after the Trump administration pulled the plug on $400 million in federal grants back in March. Why? Because Columbia dropped the ball on protecting Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment. 

Acting President Claire Shipman didn’t sugarcoat it: “Across the research portfolio we have had to make difficult choices and unfortunately, today, nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants, will receive notices of non-renewal or termination.” 

That’s a hefty 20% of the folks tied to those grants, by the way. She’s not done: “In the coming weeks and months, we will need to continue to take actions that preserve our financial flexibility and allow us to invest in areas that drive us forward.” 

Translation? More tough calls are coming, and it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. Shipman admits it’s a “deeply challenging time” for higher ed, and navigating this mess with “precision” is, well, “imperfect at times.” 

Back in March, the feds—DOJ, HHS, Education, and GSA—came down like a ton of bricks, canceling that $400 million.  “The school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” 

Columbia’s response at the time was blunt: “There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care.” That’s a lot of collateral damage.

By April, Columbia was waving the white flag, bending to Trump admin demands to get some of that cash back. They banned masks used to hide identities (good luck enforcing that), gave 36 campus cops new arrest powers, and created a senior vice provost to keep an eye on the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department, plus the Center for Palestine Studies. Talk about a shake-up.

Shipman says they’re still sweet-talking the feds to restart funding: “Columbia’s leadership continues discussions with the federal government in support of resuming activity on these research awards and additional other awards that have remained active, but unpaid.” 

But with budget cuts looming and federal funding looking shakier than a Jenga tower—especially with talk of slashing reimbursements for “facilities and administration” costs—she’s bracing for impact.

“Increasing budget constraints combined with uncertainty related to future levels of federal funding for research… requires us to make difficult choices,” Shipman said. “We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources. Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard.”

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Columbia U. janitors sue pro-Hamas agitators--accused of holding them hostage in building on campus

Alright, let’s cut through the noise. Two janitors at Columbia University, Mariano Torres and Lester Wilson, are fed up and fighting back. They’ve slapped a lawsuit on over 40 anti-Israel agitators who stormed a campus building last April, turning their night shift into a nightmare. This went down in Hamilton Hall, and the details are as ugly as you’d expect.

Filed Friday in New York’s Southern District, the lawsuit lays it out: on April 29, 2024, Torres and Wilson were just doing their jobs when a “highly coordinated mob” smashed their way into Hamilton Hall. 

The suit doesn’t mince words, calling these protesters “occupiers” who “terrorized the two men into the early morning of April 30th, assaulted and battered them, held them against their will.” Yes, you read that right—janitors caught in a premeditated shakedown.

The protesters, according to the suit, were working off some “underground manual” like they were auditioning for a heist flick. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment tantrum; it was a playbook to “take illegal action with impunity.” 

When Torres and Wilson tried to hold the line and protect the building, they got hit with disgusting slurs like “Jew-lovers,” “Jew-worker,” and “Zionist.” Classy. The mob even renamed the place “Hinds Hall,” because apparently vandalism comes with a rebrand.

The lawsuit paints a picture of a calculated siege. These folks had “hand-drawn maps and diagrams of Hamilton Hall,” plus a stockpile of food and supplies to bunker down. We’re talking fire extinguisher locations, water fountains, electrical panels—hell, they even scoped out “heavy equipment” like podium toppers, tables, and benches to fortify their little fortress. This was no spontaneous protest; it was a tactical takeover.

The suit claims the group planned to “intimidate, harass, bribe, threaten, and/or assault and batter” anyone who got in their way. They were told to wear face coverings and dark clothing to keep things extra sketchy. One of the named defendants, 41-year-old James Carlson, allegedly got physical with Torres, shoving him and threatening, “I’m going to get twenty guys up here to f--- you up.” Torres, not backing down, reportedly shot back, “I’ll be right here.” Gutsy.

Carlson’s lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, isn’t buying it. He told Fox News Digital the claims are “patently false and defamatory.” Says Carlson is Jewish Armenian and “vehemently opposes genocide targeting any people.” Gottlieb insists his client never slung anti-Semitic slurs, never touched or threatened the janitors, and isn’t even in the photos tied to the complaint. “We will prove that,” he says. 

We’ll see how that holds up.

The fallout? Torres and Wilson say they’re dealing with physical injuries and PTSD from the ordeal. Bad enough they haven’t been able to clock back into work. 

They’re not just suing the individuals—groups like National Students for Justice in Palestine, AJP Educational Foundation, Inc., Faculty for Justice in Palestine Network, WESPAC Foundation, and People’s City Council are called out for allegedly orchestrating “anti-Semitic actions” on campus, even if they’re not named defendants.

Enter former Attorney General Bill Barr, now with Torridon Law, prepping the janitors. Barr is not holding back, saying Torres and Wilson “found themselves the victims of a hate-fueled, premeditated attack.” Barr’s framing this as a stand for accountability: “Mario and Lester are seeking the justice they deserve and sending a powerful message that those who terrorize others will be held accountable under the law.”

This isn’t just a lawsuit—it’s a line in the sand. Two guys who clean floors for a living are staring down a mob and saying, “Not on our watch.” Stay tuned, because this one’s far from over.

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