Trump admin's antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard thrown out by judge

A federal judge has thrown out a civil rights case that President Donald Trump's administration brought against Harvard University, which accused the school of turning "a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis."

Judge Richard Stearns of Massachusetts said the Trump administration's lawsuit cited concerns that were "too isolated and episodic" to conclude there was "institutionalized noncompliance" with federal civil rights law.

Stearns, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, issued the ruling Aug. 13, siding with Harvard. He clarified that his decision was "limited to the specific circumstances" of the case, which the Trump administration brought March 20.

The case outlined student experiences after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, including a series of incidents the Trump administration called "severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment."

The lawsuit said Jewish students were deliberately excluded from protests of the war in Gaza. It also said students posted antisemitic messages on an app and accused Harvard administrators of not acting properly on Jewish students' complaints.

But Stearns said the incidents the Trump administration described were "almost entirely" limited to the 2023 and 2024 school year.

In court documents asking for the judge to dismiss the case, Harvard said that the government "publicly declared improper motives" in bringing the case and that the suit was another part of "a year-long campaign to burden Harvard's First Amendment rights."