The Trump administration is coming for student protesters
The Trump administration is embarking on a massive university speech crackdown, starting with Columbia University, where itâs demanding external control of entire departments and punishment for student activists. Its first test case, Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student with a green card, offers a hint of whatâs to come: a state of intentional chaos that undermines free speech and due process rights. Thus far, Columbia appears to be complying with the administrationâs demands, even as its students gear up to fight back.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents raided Columbia Universityâs campus on Thursday night, looking for students in two residential buildings, according to a university-wide email sent by Columbiaâs interim president Katrina Armstrong. At a press conference on Friday, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is investigating whether student protesters at Columbia violated federal terrorism laws and that it would prosecute âany person engaging in material support of terrorism.â Hours before the raids, Columbia received a joint letter from three government agencies demanding that it punish student protesters; empower âin …
