Trump administration's antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard dismissed
The lawsuit was one of many steps against Harvard that the Trump administration has taken since President Trump's return to office, in addition to attempting to cancel billions of dollars in federal funds.
A federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against Harvard University on Thursday, ruling that the alleged instances of discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students at the prestigious institution were too isolated and episodic to support federal civil rights violations. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns granted Harvard's motion to dismiss the suit, stating that while the court acknowledged any concern arising from the occurrences, they were not sufficient to infer institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI.
The government's complaint lacked any factual allegations of events occurring after the Trump administration notified Harvard of its belief in noncompliance, as required before legal action could be taken. The three instances in the complaint took place between 2023 and 2024. In March, the Justice Department filed a civil rights lawsuit against Harvard, alleging that the university failed to protect the students from harassment following the Oct.
7, 2023, Hamas attack, claiming intentional conduct and deliberate indifference to discriminatory harassment. The lawsuit sought to recover billions of dollars in taxpayer money that Harvard had received from federal agencies. The Justice Department alleged that Harvard discriminated against the students intentionally and did not stop the harassment, which included severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive acts on campus, particularly during protests against Israel.
The government claimed that Harvard knew about the harassment but did nothing to stop it. The lawsuit was one of several steps taken by the Trump administration against the university since President Trump's return to office, including attempts to cancel billions of dollars in federal funding. The Justice Department expressed disagreement with the ruling and stated they were assessing the next steps, while also noting an ongoing antisemitism investigation by the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. Neither Harvard nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.
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