Arrest of pro-Palestinian activist sparks outrage, Trump says ‘first of many’
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Mr Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian protest leader at Columbia University, was arrested on March 8 while returning with his pregnant wife to their residence in Columbia student housing.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - Protesters in New York and rights groups expressed outrage on March 10 over the arrest of a leader of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Columbia University, as US President Donald Trump vowed further crackdowns.
Mr Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate and one of the most prominent faces of the university’s high-profile protests,
US President Donald Trump said on March 10 that the detention of a leader of pro-Palestinian protests
The Department of Homeland Security, confirming Mr Khalil’s arrest on March 9, claimed he had “led activities aligned to Hamas” and that the action was taken “in coordination with the Department of State”.
“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“This is the first arrest of many to come,” he pledged.
The protests at Columbia, launched in 2024 in opposition to Israel’s devastating war in Gaza
Some protests turned violent and saw campus buildings occupied, while students protesting against Israel’s conduct were frequently pitted against pro-Israel campaigners, many of whom were Jewish.
Mr Trump and other Republicans have broadly accused the protesters of supporting Hamas, the Palestinian militant group and US-designated terrorist group whose deadly attack on Oct 7, 2023, against Israel sparked the war.
While the Trump administration moves to quickly deport Mr Khalil, who has reportedly been moved to the southern state of Louisiana, a federal judge on March 10 ordered the authorities to halt proceedings.
The order, seen by AFP, by Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York, also called for a preliminary hearing on March 12.
‘A kidnapping’
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemned Mr Khalil’s arrest, calling it “unprecedented, illegal, and un-American”.
“The government’s actions are obviously intended to intimidate and chill speech on one side of a public debate,” said Mr Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, in a statement.
On the afternoon of March 10, more than 1,000 protesters gathered in New York to express their outrage at Mr Khalil’s arrest.
“This was essentially a kidnapping,” said 42-year-old Ms Tobi, who declined to give her last name for fear of retaliation.
“It seems like a clear targeting of activists, which is a really, really dangerous precedent,” she said.
According to his supporters, Mr Khalil was arrested late on the night of March 8 while returning with his pregnant wife to their residence in Columbia student housing.
“This is a dismal moment in American history. We must not go down this authoritarian path one step further,” said Dr Michael Thaddeu, one of around 50 professors who expressed their concern on March 10 at a press conference.
The Trump administration has particularly targeted Columbia over its handling of the protests, threatening to revoke billions in federal funding if more action is not taken.
On March 7, four government agencies announced initial cuts of US$400 million (S$532.74 million).
The arrest also prompted an outcry from the UN, with a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying on March 10 that “it is crucial to underscore the importance of respecting the right of freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly everywhere”. AFP
