Five students and alumni of Columbia University initiated a class action lawsuit on Monday against a group of students, activists, and unions they allege orchestrated and supported anti-Israel protests that led to the shutdown of the campus at the conclusion of the 2024 spring semester.
This case names Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), and Ilhan Omar (Minn.) as defendants, claiming that the Columbia students experienced bullying and harassment, were denied access to in-person classes and campus facilities, and were deprived of a commencement ceremony that was canceled due to campus unrest.
The student plaintiffs opted to remain anonymous due to concerns about retaliation stemming from certain “hateful rhetoric,” disregard for lawful conduct, and connections to terrorist organizations among the defendants, as stated in the complaint. The lawsuit was filed on July 26 and received on Monday in New York County.
The lawsuit claims that campus protesters shouted slogans including “Death to Israel,” “Death to America,” “Death to Jews,” and “Hamas we love you. We support your rockets too!,” alongside chants like “Is‐ra‐el go to Hell,” and warnings that “The 7th of October is going to be every day for you.” Two Jewish students at Columbia reportedly faced derogatory comments such as “Nazi B—-es,” and other Jewish students were allegedly subjected to violence, with reports of them being punched, shoved, spat on, and obstructed from freely moving around the campus.
Columbia University encampment and student protesters (Getty Images)
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“This lawsuit represents the interests of students burdened by the harmful acts committed by on-campus students and faculty, along with their off-campus allies who worked together to orchestrate the two-week encampment. This encampment and the safety risks it posed led Columbia to transition classes online, limit campus access just before finals, and ultimately cancel the commencement ceremony,” the lawsuit contends.
The anti-Israel activists sought to compel the university to withdraw its financial support of Israel, enhance transparency regarding the university’s investments, and provide blanket immunity for students involved in the protests.
“The past two weeks have been some of the most challenging in Columbia’s history,” commented Columbia President Minouche Shafik regarding the anti-Israel encampment and its repercussions on the wider campus in April. “The discord, division, and disruption have affected the entire community. You, our students, have endured an especially heavy burden. You missed your final days in classrooms and residence halls. For those of you who are graduating, you are concluding your college experience the same way you began: online.”
Daniel Suhr, the lead attorney in the case and partner at Hughes & Suhr LLC, emphasized that the 36,000 students at Columbia University are entitled to financial redress for being unjustly denied the access to education, experiences, and the campus they have paid to attend.
“Radical protesters are desecrating the American flag, vandalizing the residences of community leaders, and paralyzing entire universities,” he remarked to Fox News Digital. “We are taking action to stop this lawlessness, uncover those responsible, and deliver justice to the victims affected by the turmoil at Columbia.”
The organizers of the lawsuit informed Fox News Digital that they are seeking $30 million in damages, although this specific amount is not explicitly stated in the lawsuit.
Columbia University is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Instead, the focus is on student groups that organized the protests, including Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and the Graduate Students Union, as well as faculty organizations that the lawsuit claims shielded them from accountability, such as the Columbia/Barnard Chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
Moreover, the lawsuit includes other organizations like National Students for Justice in Palestine, Within Our Lifetime, the People’s Forum, the United Auto Workers (UAW), alongside politicians like Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, and Bowman.
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“This case is crucial not just for achieving justice for the affected students at Columbia but for all university students nationwide who are paying for an education that is interrupted by violent and well-financed actors whose main agenda is to create disorder and chaos for their radical political causes,” asserted case attorney Patrick Hughes.
The protests at Columbia intensified following the university’s mass suspension of students. On April 30, anti-Israel demonstrators occupied Hamilton Hall, an academic building housing the dean and senior offices, shortly before 1 a.m. They began barricading the doors using metal gates, wooden tables, and chairs, along with zip-ties to secure the entrance, as reported by the student paper Columbia Spectator, as previously covered by Fox News Digital.
In June, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dismissed charges against 30 Columbia students and staff members arrested during the campus unrest, including those who occupied and barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall in April. The DA’s office cited insufficient evidence of property damage or personal injury as the reason for dropping the charges.
Suhr stated that the lawsuit aims to hold accountable those responsible for shutting down the university, leading to the cancellation of classes and violations of the law.
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“Months have passed since the encampment at Columbia, and we still have no answers or accountability,” Suhr added. “The DA dropped the criminal charges, and the university appears eager to return to normalcy. This lawsuit aims to achieve justice for all Columbia students whose academic year was marred by the lawlessness and intimidation perpetuated by these unhinged activists.”
“This conduct wasn’t an exercise of First Amendment rights; it was a violation of every other Columbia student’s right to the education they have paid for,” he mentioned.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the defendants for their response.
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
