Judge Nixes Trump Lawsuit Alleging Harvard Did Not Protect Jewish Students

A federal judge has dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit against Harvard University, which alleged the institution failed to adequately protect Jewish students during pro-Gaza campus protests.

Judge Richard Stearns ruled Thursday that the administration provided insufficient evidence of civil rights violations. He found the incidents cited in the case were "too isolated and episodic" to demonstrate ongoing discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Department of Justice had filed the lawsuit in March, claiming Harvard's "faculty and leadership turned a blind eye to antisemitism." The administration previously attempted to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to the university -- a move a judge ruled unlawful in 2025.

Harvard distinguished itself by resisting settlement, unlike Columbia, Northwestern, and Cornell universities, which reached multimillion-dollar deals with the administration.

Critics have raised academic freedom concerns, noting the administration conflates Israel criticism with antisemitism to suppress pro-Palestinian speech. An American Association of University Professors report from November 2025 accused the Trump administration of weaponizing civil rights law to restrict campus free speech, stating a "Palestine exception" threatens broader academic protections.