Five Columbia University students and alumni filed a class-action lawsuit Monday against students, activists and labor unions for organizing and supporting an anti-Israel encampment that forced the university’s campus to close at the end of the spring 2024 semester.
The lawsuit, which names Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Jamaal Bowman of New York, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota as defendants, alleges that Columbia students were bullied and harassed, denied in-person classes and campus facilities, and denied a graduation ceremony that was canceled due to campus unrest.
The students, who asked not to be named, feared retaliation due to the defendants’ “hateful rhetoric,” disregard for the law and ties to terrorist organizations, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed on July 26, was officially filed in New York County on Monday.
The lawsuit states that campus protesters chanted slogans such as “Death to Israel,” “Death to America,” “Death to the Jews,” “We love Hamas and we support your rockets!,” “Israel should go to hell,” and “October 7th will become every day of your life.” Two Jewish students at Columbia University were reportedly called “Nazi bastards,” and Jewish students were punched, shoved and spat on by protesters, who physically prevented them from moving freely around campus, the lawsuit alleges.
Columbia University encampment and student protesters (Getty Images)
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“This lawsuit is brought on behalf of students who have paid a high price for the unlawful actions of on-campus students, faculty and staff, and their off-campus allies who conspired to organize and sustain the two-week encampment. The encampment and the safety threats it posed forced Columbia University to move classes online, restrict access to campus just before final exams, and ultimately cancel graduation ceremonies,” the lawsuit states.
Anti-Israel activists had called for the university to withdraw its financial support for Israel, make its investments more transparent and grant a full amnesty to students who took part in demonstrations.
“The last two weeks have been one of the most challenging in Columbia’s history,” Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said of April’s anti-Israel encampments and their impact across campus. “Confusion and tension, division and confusion have affected our entire community. You, our students, have paid an especially high price. You have lost your final days in classrooms and dorms. For your senior years, you will end your college experience as you began it online.”
Daniel Sarr, lead lawyer on the lawsuit and a partner at the law firm Hughes & Sarr, said Columbia’s 36,000 students deserve financial compensation for being wrongfully denied the education, experience and access to campus they pay tuition to attend.
“Extremist protesters are burning the American flag, vandalizing the homes of community leaders, and shutting down the entire university,” he told Fox News Digital. “We are fighting back to stop this illegal activity, expose those behind it, and bring justice to the victims of the unrest at Columbia.”
Organizers of the lawsuit told Fox News Digital that the plaintiffs are seeking $30 million in damages, though the specific amount is not listed in the lawsuit.
Columbia University itself is not a defendant in the lawsuit. The students are targeting student groups that organized the camp, including Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and the Graduate Student Coalition, as well as faculty groups, including the Columbia/Barnard chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which they say shielded them from liability in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also names organizations such as National Students for Justice for Palestine, Within Our Lifetime, People’s Forum and the United Auto Workers (UAW), as well as politicians such as Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Bowman.
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“This lawsuit is critical to securing justice not only for the students victimized at Columbia, but for all college students across the country who are paying to receive an education but are being hindered by well-funded, violent agitators whose only mission is to cause chaos and mayhem in pursuit of their extreme political beliefs,” said Patrick Hughes, the attorney handling the lawsuit.
Protests at Columbia University have intensified since the university began issuing mass suspensions. Anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University occupied Hamilton Hall, an academic building used by deans and senior faculty, shortly before 1 a.m. on April 30, “moving metal gates to block the doors, blocking entrances with wooden tables and chairs, and zip-tying the doors shut,” according to the student newspaper, Columbia Spectator. Fox News Digital also reported earlier.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in June dropped charges against 30 Columbia University students and staff members arrested during campus unrest, including some who occupied and barricaded themselves in Hamilton Hall in April. The DA’s office dismissed the case, citing insufficient evidence of property damage or personal injuries.
Sah said the lawsuit is aimed at shutting down universities, forcing them to cancel classes and holding those who broke the law accountable.
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“It’s been months since the Columbia campout, and we still have no answers or explanations,” Sarr said. “With the District Attorney dropping the criminal charges and the university desperately trying to get operations back to normal, this lawsuit will finally bring justice to all Columbia students whose academic year was ruined by the illegal conduct and harassment of these erratic activists.”
“This is not an exercise of First Amendment rights, but a violation of the right to an education that every other Columbia University student pays for,” he added.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the defendants for comment.
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
