Exclusive: Mahmoud Khalil's Attorney on Breaking Developments in Detained Columbia Graduate's Case

It has been 11 days since Department of Homeland Security agents working under the direction of the Trump White House detained Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, handcuffing him in the lobby of his apartment building. Khalil is a legal U.S. permanent resident and green card holder, and his wife, who is eight months pregnant, is a U.S. citizen. DHS quickly shipped him to Louisiana—a significantly less favorable jurisdiction. On Wednesday, a federal judge rebuked the Trump administration, ruling it could not move Khalil's case to Louisiana and sending it back to New Jersey.

One of the central tactics the Trump administration is deploying in its crusade against speech opposing Israel’s wars has been to cancel or withhold federal funding to Columbia and dozens of other colleges and universities. On March 7, the Trump administration announced it had canceled approximately $400M in federal grants to Columbia saying it had failed to “protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment.” The next day, Khalil was arrested.

After his detention, Khalil and several other anonymous students filed a federal lawsuit to block Columbia University and Barnard College from handing over private disciplinary records to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. On Wednesday, Khalil’s legal team is filing an amended complaint, expanding that suit to name Attorney General Pam Bondi, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and others.

Jeremy Scahill speaks to Amy Greer, Khalil's attorney, about new developments in his case and the expansion of their lawsuit to more members of the Trump administration.

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