Pro-Palestinian leader sues Trump admin, pro-Israel groups for 'conspiracy'

Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian protest leader at Columbia University, has filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of conspiring with pro-Israel organizations to target him for his activism. The suit, lodged in Manhattan federal court, alleges that government actions violate the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, a law designed to prevent conspiracies that restrict rights.

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The lawsuit is about exposing the network of organizations, political actors, and institutions that work together to criminalize solidarity with Palestine.

Khalil, who was arrested by immigration officers in March 2025 and spent 104 days in a Louisiana immigration jail before his release in June 2025, claims the lawsuit aims to expose a network of organizations and political actors working to criminalize support for Palestine. He was arrested as part of a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism under the Trump administration. His federal deportation case is ongoing, though he received a stay in May blocking his removal until his case reaches the Supreme Court.

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For decades, the state of Israel and the Zionist organizations in this country that operate on behalf of Israel have understood that their conduct cannot survive honest scrutiny.

The complaint names several senior Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, former DHS secretary Kristi Noem, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. It also names private pro-Israel entities such as the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, and Betar USA, alleging they conspired with officials to prosecute activists.

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So rather than defend or change their conduct, they resorted to make scrutiny itself impossible. They brand criticism of a government as hatred of a people. They rebrand documented atrocities as debates.

Baher Azmy, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the complaint, stated at a press conference that these entities were "appalled and scared" by the growing Palestine rights movement following the Oct. 7 attacks and declining support for Israel's actions in Gaza. He characterized their response as an attempt by "cowards and bullies" to repress speech they disliked, rather than defend their support for Israel's conduct.

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After the Oct. 7 attacks and the beginning of the Israeli genocide, these entities were appalled and scared about the burgeoning Palestine rights movement occurring on campus and the cratering support for the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza.