Boston judge throws out federal antisemitism suit against Harvard

The Justice Department under President Donald Trump in his second term in office claimed Harvard failed to take meaningful action to address antisemitism on its campus.(CN) — A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday found the Trump administration couldn’t show evidence of ongoing systemic antisemitism at Harvard University in its campus discrimination claims.According to the government in its March 2026 complaint, the Ivy League college “tolerated antisemitic mobs of students, faculty, and visitors” during pro-Palestine demonstrations that occurred on campus in the aftermath of the Oct. 7th, 2023, attacks in Israel.But U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns concluded that the Trump administration did not sufficiently plead pervasive discrimination after the school was formally put on notice about the claims in June 2025.“Without diminishing any concern arising from these occurrences, the court finds them, singly and collectively, to be too isolated and episodic to support a plausible inference that any institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI persists at Harvard to this day,” Stearns wrote in his 4-page dismissal of the Trump administration’s suit.“This decision is limited to the specific circumstances presented here, where there is no plausible allegation of noncompliance following statutory notice,” the Bill Clinton appointee wrote elsewhere in his opinion.Representatives for the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to request for comment Thursday afternoon.The Justice Department brought the three-count civil complaint against the 390-year-old Ivy League school over what it claimed were breach of contract and violations of the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin in federally funded programs and activities.Interchangeably referring to both anti-Israel protesters and antisemitic demonstrators, the Justice Department claimed “Harvard has failed to enforce its rules or meaningfully discipline the mobs that occupy its buildings and terrorize its Jewish and Israeli students. Harvard instead rewarded students who assaulted, harassed or intimidated their Jewish and Israeli peers.”The Justice Department said peaceful protests against the Israeli government would not violate Title VI, but claimed the Harvard campus demonstrations were “beyond peaceful protest.”The case was brought by the Educational Opportunities Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.Harvard quickly responded with a motion to dismiss in May, arguing that the civil rights investigation was merely a “continuation of the government’s ongoing campaign of retaliation against Harvard for refusing to capitulate to government demands and for exercising its First Amendment rights.”The discrimination suit was the latest in an ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and Harvard during his second term.The spat has included the Trump administration cutting off more than $2.6 billion in research funding, terminating federal contracts and attempting to block Harvard from hosting international students.Alan Garber, president of Harvard University, has described the 2023-24 academic year as “disappointing and painful,” and established a pair of presidential task forces in 2024: one to address antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, another to address anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian bias.“Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry,” Garber wrote last year in an update on the separate reports from the two respective task forces.“We will continue to provide for the safety and security of all members of our community and safeguard their freedom from harassment,” he wrote. “We will redouble our efforts to ensure that the University is a place where ideas are welcomed, entertained, and contested in the spirit of seeking truth; where argument proceeds without sacrificing dignity; and where mutual respect is the norm.”The attempted civil rights prosecution of Harvard University during Trump’s second term aligns with the strategies outlined by the Heritage Foundation in its Project Esther plan to combat antisemitism by identifying and targeting pro-Palestinian immigrants for deportation, an addendum to the right-wing think tank’s 900-page policymaking blueprint for a potential conservative administration Project 2025.In a report titled “A National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism,” published on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, the Heritage Foundation proposed coordinated efforts with the executive branch to punish universities, “when a willing administration occupies the White House.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads