Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil filed a $20 million claim against the Trump administration, claiming he was falsely imprisoned and faced malicious prosecution.
The $20 million would be used to “help others similarly targeted by the Trump administration and Columbia University,” the Center for Constitutional Rights explained in a press release. Khalil would also accept an “official apology and abandonment of the administration’s unconstitutional policy.”
Khalil’s claim argues that the Trump administration carried out its detention of the activist “in a manner calculated to terrorize him and his family.”
“This is the first step towards accountability. Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss. But let’s be clear, the same government that targeted me for speaking out is using taxpayer dollars to fund Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza,” Khalil said in a statement. “There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power. And I won’t stop here.”
He declared that he will “continue to pursue justice against everyone who contributed to my unlawful detention or spread lies in an attempt to destroy my reputation, including those affiliated with Columbia University. I’m holding the U.S. government accountable not just for myself, but for everyone they try to silence through fear, exile, or detention.”
Homeland Security’s assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, condemned Khalil’s claim, calling it “absurd.”
“Mahmoud Khalil’s claim that DHS officials branded him as an antisemite and terrorized him and his family is absurd. It was Khalil who terrorized Jewish students on campus. He ‘branded’ himself as antisemite through his own hateful behavior and rhetoric,” said McLaughlin. “It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America. The Trump Administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority to detain Khalil, as it does with any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews, and damages property.”
Following his recent release from an immigration detention facility, pro-Palestine protests on the campus of Columbia University were reignited.
