Mohsen Mahdawi, 34, a student who led anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, issued a message to U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration on Wednesday after a judge released him from federal custody.
“I am not afraid of you,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
Mahdawi was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 14. He played an active role in the fall 2024 student protests at Columbia University and “has engaged in antisemitic conduct through leading pro-Palestinian protests and calling for Israel’s destruction,” a senior State Department source said, per the New York Post, after his arrest.
Geoffrey Crawford, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, ruled that Mahdawi can attend his upcoming Columbia graduation in Manhattan, per the AP. The government can appeal the decision.
Mahdawi, co-president of Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, led chants of “no fear” and “free Palestine” outside the Vermont courtroom.
“Never give up on the idea that justice will prevail,” he said, per the wire. “We want to stand up for humanity, because the rest of the world—not only Palestine—is watching us, and what is going to happen in America is going to affect the rest of the world.”
The AP reported that “the government says his detention is a ‘constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process’ and that district courts are barred from hearing challenges to how and when such proceedings are begun.”
“District courts play no role in that process. Consequently, this court lacks jurisdiction over the petitioner’s claims, which are all, at bottom, challenges to removal proceedings,” stated Michael Drescher, Vermont’s acting U.S. attorney.
