Judge dismisses Trump lawsuit that claimed Harvard failed to protect Jewish students

A US federal judge has dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit that claimed Harvard University failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment following the war in Gaza. US district judge Richard Stearns in Boston ruled on Thursday morning that the administration's lawsuit, filed in March, did not plausibly show ongoing violation of federal civil rights law on Harvard's campus.

The administration's complaint focused on a handful of incidents alleged in March 2025, which Stearns deemed "too isolated and episodic" to support a claim of ongoing civil rights violations by Harvard. The ruling dealt a blow to Donald Trump and his officials, who had pressed to force Harvard to address antisemitism and other issues related to race, admissions, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

In its original complaint, the Trump administration painted a dire picture of life at Harvard after the Hamas attack in October 2023, alleging that Jewish and Israeli students were harassed, physically assaulted, stalked, and spat upon despite the university's inaction. This, the Department of Justice argued, violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs based on race or national origin.

However, Stearns ruled that the Department of Justice had misinterpreted the purpose of Title VI, which was intended to incentivize compliance rather than penalize wrongdoing. He noted that the alleged discriminatory incidents provided by the Trump administration were largely limited to the 2023-24 academic year, with no evidence of noncompliance after Harvard was put on notice under Title VI in June 2025.