Judges Harvard antisemitism ruling sends Trump Justice Department back to drawing board

The Justice Department is planning its next move after a federal judge in Boston dismissed its case accusing Harvard University of repeatedly turning a "blind eye" to antisemitism on campus."We disagree with the ruling and are assessing next steps," Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement."The Civil Rights Division has an extensive and active portfolio of antisemitism enforcement, including indictments, prosecutions, settlements, and investigations across the country."Judge Richard Stearns, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit against the Ivy League on Thursday, determining that the incidents of antisemitism were too isolated to establish a pattern showing that the school remained in violation of federal civil rights law after the federal government issued its complaint.DOJ SUES UCLA OVER ALLEGED ‘JUDENREIN’ CONDITIONS DURING ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENTPresident Donald Trump said Monday that he is seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University.

(Getty Images)"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.The Justice Department filed its lawsuit against Harvard on March 20, 2026, following a wave of anti-Israel protests that erupted on college campuses nationwide after Hamas’ Oct.7, 2023, attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.At Harvard, protests during the 2023-24 school year included repeated occupations of libraries and other campus buildings and a weeks-long encampment in Harvard Yard.

Jewish students reported being harassed, intimidated and excluded from campus spaces.The Justice Department alleged that Harvard violated Title VI by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment despite complaints...