Latest news with #DOJ
The Hill
11 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Hill
DOJ says UCLA violated civil rights law with ‘indifference' towards protecting Jewish and Israeli students
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) violated civil rights laws by acting with 'indifference' towards attacks on Israeli and Jewish students. In a press release, the DOJ said that its Civil Rights Division on Tuesday 'announced that the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by acting with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.' 'Our investigation into the University of California system has found concerning evidence of systemic anti-Semitism at UCLA that demands severe accountability from the institution,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the release. 'This disgusting breach of civil rights against students will not stand: DOJ will force UCLA to pay a heavy price for putting Jewish Americans at risk and continue our ongoing investigations into other campuses in the UC system,' she added. The Hill has reached out to UCLA and the UC system for comment. UCLA recently agreed to pay over $6 million in a consent agreement in the wake of Jewish faculty and students bringing an antisemitism lawsuit against the university due to its handling of pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations. Last year, pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses erupted across the U.S. over Israel's war in Gaza. Protestors faced accusations of antisemitism amid an already heated political climate on the issue of Israel and Palestine as the war in Gaza raged on. The leading international authority on food crisis said Tuesday via an alert that the worst-case scenario of famine was occurring in the Gaza Strip, with death and destruction of infrastructure also widespread in the territory.
India Today
42 minutes ago
- Politics
- India Today
US alleges UCLA violated civil rights law during Israel-Gaza campus unrest
The US Justice Department (Image source: AP) UCLA violated Equal Protection Clause and Civil Rights Act DOJ cites deliberate indifference to harassment complaints UCLA risks losing federal funds without corrective action The US Justice Department on Tuesday accused the University of California (UCLA) of not doing enough to protect Jewish and Israeli students from ongoing harassment since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. Officials said the university allowed a hostile environment to grow without taking proper action. Federal officials say UCLA violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by standing by as students faced 'severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment' since protests erupted in October 2023. 'UCLA failed to take timely and appropriate action in response to credible claims of harm and hostility,' said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. 'That's a clear violation of federal civil rights law.' In a scathing Notice of Violation, the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said UCLA acted with 'deliberate indifference' and failed to respond meaningfully to repeated complaints from Jewish and Israeli students, who said they were targeted for their identity. 'This disgusting breach of civil rights against students will not stand,' said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. 'DOJ will force UCLA to pay a heavy price for putting Jewish Americans at risk.' While UCLA hasn't publicly responded yet, the finding puts the university at risk of losing federal funding if it doesn't take corrective steps. The report paints a picture of growing anti-Semitic hostility on campus â€' from verbal abuse and intimidation to exclusion from student spaces. It also suggests UCLA officials were slow to act, even as tensions escalated after the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel's military response in Gaza. The US government has been probing multiple universities for their handling of last year's pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's military assault in Gaza, which followed an October 2023 Hamas attack. Earlier on Tuesday, UCLA agreed to pay more than $6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitic discrimination, according to Reuters. Concerns about anti-Palestinian incidents surfaced in spring 2024, when a pro-Israel group attacked a pro-Palestinian protest camp with clubs and poles â€' one of the most violent episodes of the campus unrest. Last week, Columbia University in New York City said it will pay over $200 million to the US government in a settlement with the Trump administration to resolve federal probes and have most of its suspended federal funding restored. The US Justice Department on Tuesday accused the University of California (UCLA) of not doing enough to protect Jewish and Israeli students from ongoing harassment since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. Officials said the university allowed a hostile environment to grow without taking proper action. Federal officials say UCLA violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by standing by as students faced 'severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment' since protests erupted in October 2023. 'UCLA failed to take timely and appropriate action in response to credible claims of harm and hostility,' said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. 'That's a clear violation of federal civil rights law.' In a scathing Notice of Violation, the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said UCLA acted with 'deliberate indifference' and failed to respond meaningfully to repeated complaints from Jewish and Israeli students, who said they were targeted for their identity. 'This disgusting breach of civil rights against students will not stand,' said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. 'DOJ will force UCLA to pay a heavy price for putting Jewish Americans at risk.' While UCLA hasn't publicly responded yet, the finding puts the university at risk of losing federal funding if it doesn't take corrective steps. The report paints a picture of growing anti-Semitic hostility on campus â€' from verbal abuse and intimidation to exclusion from student spaces. It also suggests UCLA officials were slow to act, even as tensions escalated after the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel's military response in Gaza. The US government has been probing multiple universities for their handling of last year's pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's military assault in Gaza, which followed an October 2023 Hamas attack. Earlier on Tuesday, UCLA agreed to pay more than $6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitic discrimination, according to Reuters. Concerns about anti-Palestinian incidents surfaced in spring 2024, when a pro-Israel group attacked a pro-Palestinian protest camp with clubs and poles â€' one of the most violent episodes of the campus unrest. Last week, Columbia University in New York City said it will pay over $200 million to the US government in a settlement with the Trump administration to resolve federal probes and have most of its suspended federal funding restored. Join our WhatsApp Channel
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
UCLA to Pay ‘Heavy Price' for Campus Antisemitism, Bondi Says
Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded 'severe accountability' from the University of California at Los Angeles on Tuesday after the Justice Department found the university violated federal civil rights laws by failing to stop antisemitic harassment on campus. DOJ's Civil Rights Division said UCLA acted with 'deliberate indifference' to reports of abuse targeting Jewish and Israeli students since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, according to a press release. Additionally, the department said the university failed to meet its legal obligations under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, in a notice of violation.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
How to pronounce Ghislaine Maxwell's name
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is making headlines again after meetings with the Department of Justice. A senior DOJ official met with Maxwell for a second day of talks on Friday, July 25. This comes as the Trump administration attempts to block the release of additional documents related to the investigation into Epstein's death. The disgraced financier died by suicide in August 2019 after being convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, after being found guilty in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. She is currently appealing her sentence. POTUS on socialite Ghislaine Maxwell: Trump says he hasn't considered pardoning Epstein associate Closed-door discussions involved Maxwell, her attorneys and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former defense lawyer. Maxwell's lawyer said an initial meeting with the Department of Justice was "very productive." But how do you pronounce Maxwell's first name? How to pronounce Ghislaine Maxwell's name The French name Ghislaine is pronounced" Ghee-len" with a hard "g" The "s" is silent while the "laine" portion rhymes with "again." It can also be pronounced "lahn" depending on the accent of the individual speaking the name. Contributing: USA TODAY's Christopher Cann, Jeff Burlew and Aysha Bagchi. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to pronounce the name of Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump says Epstein 'stole' Virginia Giuffre and other young women from Mar-a-Lago spa
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein "stole" Virginia Giuffre and other young women who worked at the spa in his Mar-a-Lago club. "People were taken out of the spa, hired by him. In other words, gone," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned from Scotland to Washington, where he continues to face fallout from his administration's handling of files related to Epstein. "And other people would come and complain, 'this guy is taking people from the spa.' I didn't know that," Trump continued. "And then when I heard about it, I told him, I said, 'Listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa.' I don't want him taking people. And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again and I said, 'out of here.'" MORE: Trump, in Scotland, gives more details about his falling out with Jeffrey Epstein Trump was then asked if one of those women was Giuffre, an Epstein accuser who died by suicide this past April at the age of 41. Giuffre, ABC News previously reported, had accused Ghislaine Maxwell of recruiting her when she was 17 years old working as a locker-room attendant at Mar-a-Lago in 2000 and bringing her to Epstein's home for a massage. Maxwell denies those allegations. "I don't know. I think she worked at the spa, I think so, I think that was one of the people. Yeah, he stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, none whatsoever," Trump responded. The comments appear to be the most detailed Trump has made publicly about the circumstances surrounding his falling out with Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. At the time of Epstein's arrest, Trump said they hadn't spoken in 15 years. Last week, White House communications director Steven Cheung had said Epstein was kicked out of Trump's club "for being a creep." Then on Monday, Trump framed their falling out as a result of Epstein poaching his employees after being warned not to. Asked about the apparent discrepancy between the two reasons, Trump asserted they are "the same thing." "You know, it's sort of a little bit of the same thing," he said. "But no, he took people that work for me, and I told him, 'don't do it anymore.' And he did it. I said, 'stay the hell out of here.'" Trump was asked by one reporter during the Air Force One gaggle, "Mr. President, Epstein has a certain reputation, obviously, but just curious where some of the workers that were taken from you were some of them young women?" He went on to respond, "Well, I don't want to say, but everyone knows the people that were taken. And it was the concept of taking people that work for me is bad. But that story has been pretty well out there. And the answer is yes, they were." MORE: Democratic senators ask Blanche to commit that DOJ won't advocate for pardon or commutation for Maxwell Maxwell, a longtime Epstein associate who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, is now publicly lobbying for a pardon. She appealed to Congress on that point on Tuesday so she could testify "openly and honestly" before the House Oversight Committee. When Maxwell sat down for nine hours of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week, her attorney David Markus said they hoped Trump "exercises that power in the right and just way." Blanche has not revealed what was discussed in the meetings, saying only that he would do so at the "appropriate time." Maxwell was granted limited immunity to speak with Blanche, sources told ABC News. President Trump continued to leave open the possibility of a pardon for Maxwell on Monday, saying he had the authority to do so but hadn't been asked. "It's in the news, that -- that aspect of it. But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it," Trump said.
