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The Intercept
4 days ago
- General
- The Intercept
How the FBI Sought a Warrant to Search Instagram of Columbia Student Protesters
Newly unsealed records provide new details about the Trump administration's failed effort this spring to obtain a search warrant for an Instagram account run by student protesters at Columbia University. The FBI and federal prosecutors sought a sweeping warrant, the records show, that would have identified the people who ran the account along with every user who had interacted with it since January 2024. Between March 15 and April 14, the FBI and the Department of Justice filed multiple search warrant applications and appeared numerous times before two different judges in Manhattan federal court as part of an investigation into Columbia University Apartheid Divest, or CUAD, a student group. A magistrate judge denied the application three times in March, a decision which a district court judge later affirmed in April. 'It is unusual for a magistrate judge to reject a search warrant application from the government.' 'It is unusual for a magistrate judge to reject a search warrant application from the government,' said F. Mario Trujillo, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. 'And it is even more unusual for the government to try and appeal that decision to a district court judge, who again rejected it. That speaks to the lack probable cause in the warrant application.' The records — which include transcripts of hearings with the judges as well as the government's filings — provide a rare blow-by-blow of the search warrant application process, which, in line with normal procedure, was initially conducted under seal. The materials were unsealed on Tuesday as part of a court action originally filed by the New York Times in May, which The Intercept supported. Columbia University and CUAD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government first sought a search warrant on March 15, the records show. The Times previously reported that the Department of Justice sought the search warrant after a top official, Emil Bove, ordered the department's civil rights division to find a list of CUAD's members. For a month, the government argued to judges that a March 14 post on Instagram from @cuapartheiddivest — the group was banned from Instagram in late March for violating community standards — was a 'true threat' against the university's then-interim president Katrina Armstrong in violation of federal law. The post referred to the university's use of the New York Police Department to break up campus demonstrations and the targeting of student activists by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Screenshot from the government's application for a search warrant targeting the Instagram account of Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Source: Court filing 'The people will not stand for Columbia University's shameless complicity in genocide!' reads the post, in part, next to a photo of graffiti spray-painted onto a Manhattan mansion used as the president's housing at Columbia. 'The University's repression has only bred more resistance and Columbia has lit a flame it can't control. Katrina Armstrong you will not be allowed peace as you sic NYPD officers and ICE agents on your own students for opposing the genocide of the Palestinian people.' 'FREE THEM ALL' reads the graffiti in the photo, alongside an inverted triangle, a much-disputed symbol that pro-Palestine protesters in the U.S. and around the world have used. Hamas, the militant group that ruled the occupied Gaza Strip, has also used the inverted triangle to identify bombing targets, the FBI agent — whose name was redacted — wrote in an affidavit accompanying the search warrant application. The FBI agent wrote that the photograph of the graffiti and message in the Instagram post were sufficient probable cause of an 'interstate communication of a threat to injure, in violation of' the law. Read our complete coverage The argument, made in multiple hearings over the following weeks, failed to convince two judges. Reviewing the initial application, Chief Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn determined it was a 'close call' and asked for more information about the 'symbolism and context of the posting,' according to a letter from the government. On March 16, Netburn denied the search warrant application, finding the post 'seemed like protected speech' under the First Amendment, the government letter said. The Justice Department quickly appealed the rare denial of a search warrant application. 'Because Judge Netburn's ruling significantly impedes an ongoing investigation into credible threats of violence against an individual, prompt reversal is necessary,' wrote Alec C. Ward, a trial attorney in the Justice Department's civil rights division, in a March 20 letter to a district court judge. Following hearings on March 24 and March 25, which largely concerned the Justice Department's procedural missteps, District Court Judge John Koeltl referred the search application back to Netburn. During a March 28 hearing, Netburn denied the request for a search warrant application once again. Netburn criticized the government for failing to 'clearly represent what the case law is' around the First Amendment and threats. 'Words that may reflect heated rhetoric, in the context in which they are made would not reasonably engender fear, do not constitute a true threat,' Netburn said, ruling that the government hadn't met its burden to establish that the triangle symbol 'in the context here and in the context of the statement that the president of Columbia University will not have peace, is a true threat, as the law identifies.' The government also hadn't indicated whether Armstrong, the interim Columbia president, herself actually interpreted the statements as threatening, which binding precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court requires. 'We have not had an opportunity to put that question directly to Ms. Armstrong at this point,' Ward told Netburn. The FBI had flagged the post to Armstrong's office, Ward said at the hearing, 'conveying its belief that the threat should be taken seriously from a security standpoint.' Ward compared the post to burning a cross outside a residence, which is not protected speech under the First Amendment, saying the two were not 'exactly equivalent' but still comparable as 'symbolic threats.'
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Raging anti-Israel protesters burn their own DIPLOMAS outside Columbia University graduation ceremony
Anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University have burned their own diplomas in an effort to rage against the institution for bowing down to the Trump administration. Rowdy demonstrators gathered outside the graduation ceremony on Wednesday, raucously chanting 'Free Palestine ', wearing keffiyehs and holding a Palestinian flag with 'Free Mahmoud Khalil' written on it. Khalil, a student at Columbia from Syria who was in the United States on a green card, is in custody awaiting deportation after he was arrested back in March accused of organizing pro-Palestinian rallies on campus. He served as a spokesman for the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group, or CUAD, on campus during the disruptive encampments and protests which gripped Columbia last year. Extraordinary photographs from the protest captured students setting fire to their own diplomas after pouring years of effort and thousands of dollars into achieving the certificate. Others simply tore their diplomas to shreds, holding the evidence of their crumpled up certificates above their heads proudly. CUAD put a call-out on social media ahead of the graduation, demanding supporters show up and cause mayhem during the celebration. 'WEAR A MASK! GET LOUD! BRING NOISE! NO COMMENCEMENT AS USUAL UNDER GENOCIDE,' it read. During the ceremony, some students wore keffiyehs as they heckled acting president, Claire Shipman, during her speech. Shipman paid tribute to Khalil, acknowledging 'many in our community today are mourning the absence of our graduate Mahmoud Khalil.' 'We firmly believe that our international students have the same rights to free speech as everyone else.' Outside the university's main gate, protesters shouted 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', 'Columbia will fall', and 'One solution: Revolution.' President Trump demanded the university ban masks from protests as part of sweeping orders seeking unprecedented control on campus. Columbia sparked outrage among students and alumni when it caved to Trump's demands after he pulled $400million in federal funding previously allocated to the school. He had threatened to cut more over the university's handling of rampant protests against Israel. Columbia vowed to revamp its long-standing disciplinary process and bar protests inside academic buildings. Students are no longer permitted to wear face masks on campus 'for the purposes of concealing one's identity.' An exception would be made for people wearing them for health reasons. In an effort to expand 'intellectual diversity' within the university, Columbia must also appoint new faculty members to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies department. As a 'precondition' for restoring funding, federal officials demanded that the university place its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under 'academic receivership for a minimum of five years.' After the $400million funding cut, Columbia was forced to slash 180 jobs. The financial strain has also forced the institution to reduce some of its activity, including 'running lighter footprints' within research infrastructure,' officials said.
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Anti-Israel protesters torch diplomas outside Columbia University on graduation day
A group of keffiyeh-wearing anti-Israel protesters ripped up and burned diplomas outside Columbia University on Wednesday shortly after a graduation ceremony at the Ivy League institution, while unruly demonstrators also tangled with police. Chaos erupted outside the university when the protesters – many of whom had their faces covered with masks – torched diplomas in food trays next to a sign that read "Free Mahmoud Khalil," the former student who was arrested by immigration agents in March and whom the Trump administration is trying to deport. "Free, free Palestine," and "You're committing genocide," the protesters yelled in the rain to the sound of drums. At least three people could be seen ripping up diplomas, although only one of them was wearing a Columbia blue robe. The group was surrounded by older demonstrators who didn't appear to be students and others holding signs indicating they were alumni of the university. Police moved in and put out the flames, making one arrest, the NYPD said. Later, protesters clashed with police across the street from the entrance to Columbia. They attempted to push through barriers, but a heavy police force stopped them in their tracks. The protest group then left and headed down 116th Street toward the Hudson River with the NYPD following. The Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) group, which Khalil helped lead, encouraged students to protest beforehand, taking issue with the university celebrating Prof. Zvi Galil, who has served as the dean of Columbia and as president of Tel Aviv University. "While 14,000 Palestinian children are at imminent threat of death from the occupation's starvation of Gaza, Columbia wants to honor a WAR CRIMINAL and MURDERER on our campus today," the group wrote on X without substantiating their claims. Wednesday's ceremony involved about 12,000 graduates and an estimated 25,000 family and friends, according to the New York Post. The disruption followed on from a graduation ceremony on Tuesday where students heckled Acting University President Claire Shipman and shouted, "Free Mahmoud!" The chants continued for nearly 30 seconds. Once the agitators calmed down, the acting president was able to get through her final points. It was the latest in a long line of protests to rock the Manhattan college since the onset of the war in Gaza. Last year, the university's encampment protests ignited a wave of campus protests throughout the country. The chaos at Columbia culminated in students taking control of Hamilton Hall and violently clashing with police in riot gear. The ugly scenes saw more than 200 people arrested. Two weeks ago, students protested inside a library at Columbia, which led to dozens more arrests as the university leadership said it would take a harder approach to illegal behavior on campus.
New York Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Anti-Israel protesters spark chaos at Columbia University graduation with diploma burning, aggressive chants
At least two anti-Israel protesters were arrested outside Columbia University during its annual commencement ceremony, as the NYPD tussled with a few dozen rowdy demonstrators across the street from the school's main entrance. The ceremony — attended by some 37,000 people — went relatively smoothly inside the gates, though acting President Claire Shipman's commencement address was drowned out by raucous chants demanding the release of former graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by ICE agents in March and is currently awaiting deportation. Outside the campus gates, however, some newly minted grads torched their diplomas in protest, loudly booing, chanting and brandishing signs denouncing Israel for alleged 'atrocities' committed in its war against Hamas. Cops were called to the scene to maintain order, but the NYPD couldn't immediately confirm who summoned them to the Morningside Heights campus. Advertisement Khalil, a spokesman for the radical Columbia University Apartheid Divest group (CUAD), is slated for deportation by the Trump administration for allegedly engaging in activities 'aligned to Hamas.' 3 Cardboard lit on fire during the commencement ceremony. Adam Gray for the NYPost 3 Columbia students ripped up their diplomas at the graduation. Adam Gray for the NYPost Advertisement CUAD put out a call on social media ahead of Wednesday's graduation pledging to disrupt the ceremony. 'WEAR A MASK! GET LOUD! BRING NOISE! NO COMMENCEMENT AS USUAL UNDER GENOCIDE!' the group wrote in an X post Tuesday. 3 Students were arrested and escorted into police vans. Adam Gray for the NYPost Advertisement Last year's commencement was canceled over safety concerns after an anti-Israel encampment protest engulfed the campus for weeks during the spring. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after Columbia calls in police
The New York police department arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian activists who occupied part of the main library building on Columbia University's campus on Wednesday evening, ending an hours-long standoff, roughly one year after student anti-war protests swept the Ivy League school. Claire Shipman, the university's acting president, said in a statement that she requested officers from the NYPD to help clear the building, after protesters had refused to leave despite being warned that a failure to comply would result in disciplinary action and possible arrest for trespassing. A spokesperson for the NYPD said officers arrested 'multiple individuals' who refused to disperse. Related: 'What is left of our democracy?': freed Palestinian human rights advocate warns of US authoritarian rule Video posted online by the student activist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) showed NYPD officers in riot gear entering the Butler library reading room, as protesters locked arms and chanted: 'We have nothing to lose but our chains!' The demonstration began hours before, on Wednesday afternoon, when a large group of masked protesters, many wearing the keffiyeh, the traditional black-and-white checkered scarf that has long been a symbol of Palestinian liberation, flooded into Columbia's Butler library and took over the main room on the second floor, according to statements and images shared on social media by CUAD. Renaming the space 'the Basel Al-Araj Popular University', some activists stood on desks with bullhorns, while others hung a sign that read 'strike for Gaza' and distributed pamphlets calling on the university to 'divest' from funds and businesses that activists say are profiting from Israel's invasion of Gaza. 'We will not be useless intellectuals,' they said in a statement posted online. 'Palestine is our compass, and we stand strong in the face of violent oppression.' Shipman, who spent the afternoon and evening outside the Butler library, said the university took multiple steps to 'defuse the situation' before authorizing the police. It sent in campus public safety officers, who warned the activists that they would face disciplinary action and possible arrest if they failed to comply. The protesters said they refused to show their IDs and described a physical confrontation between them and the security officers. The university said two public safety officers were injured, while protesters reported being 'kettled' and kept from leaving the building. At 6pm EST, students received an alert saying the library was closed and the area 'must be cleared'. 'Requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community,' Shipman said in a statement. In a later statement, Shipman said she walked through the building after it was cleared and saw the reading room 'defaced and damaged in disturbing ways' and with 'disturbing slogans'. 'Let me be clear, what happened today, what I witnessed, was utterly unacceptable,' she said, emphasizing that the school 'unequivocally rejects antisemitism and all other forms of harassment and discrimination'. Video shared on social media showed more than a dozen protesters, handcuffed with zip ties, being led out of the building by police officers and loaded on to an NYPD bus. The student-run Columbia Daily Spectator reported that about 75 protesters were arrested. In an interview with a local NBC affiliate on Wednesday evening, New York's mayor, Eric Adams, called the protest 'unacceptable'. In a later statement, the mayor said he had received a 'written request' from the university for police backup. The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said she was 'grateful to public safety officials for keeping students safe'. 'Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable,' she said in a statement. 'We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University's library,' Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, posted on X on Wednesday night. 'Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.' Related: 'Desperate, traumatised people': Gaza faces wave of looting, theft and violence The standoff comes at a fragile moment for Columbia, as the university faces a crackdown by the Trump administration over its response to student protests against the war in Gaza last spring. The administration has accused the university of failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus and canceled $400m in federal research funding from the school. On Tuesday, the university announced a round of layoffs as a result of the cuts. University officials said they were working with the Trump administration in the hopes of getting the funding restored. Last spring, protesters set up an encampment and seized Hamilton Hall, a campus building, which led to dozens of arrests and inspired similar demonstrations at other universities across the country. Since then, Columbia has undergone a series of leadership changes. In March, the university's interim president stepped down after agreeing to nearly all of the Trump administration's sweeping demands – a decision that outraged faculty and critics who said the university had sacrificed its independence and academic freedom. Among the changes have been a ban on students wearing masks to conceal their identities and a rule that those protesting on campus must present their identification when asked. The school also said it had hired new public safety officers empowered to make arrests on campus. The protest comes amid renewed tensions at US universities over the war in Gaza. The Trump administration has in recent months launched a sweeping crackdown on student demonstrators involved in last year's campus protests, including the recently released Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green-card holder and Columbia University student who was detained for his activism, and the Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested in March and remains in custody. Robert Mackey and the Associated Press contributed reporting
