Justice Department Sues UCLA in 3rd Case, Seeking Hundreds of Millions Over Antisemitism Claims
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · May 26
Justice Department Sues UCLA in 3rd Case, Seeking Hundreds of Millions Over Antisemitism Claims
5 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · May 26
A 53-page civil rights complaint accuses UCLA of being deliberately indifferent to antisemitic harassment of Jewish and Israeli students tied to the 2024 encampment and later rallies.
Federal officials want UCLA to repay grant money going back more than two years—potentially hundreds of millions of dollars—while blocking new federal contracts, imposing outside monitoring and forcing policy changes.
The suit says masked demonstrators at the April 30, 2024 encampment attack kicked, beat and pepper-sprayed Jews, and alleges campus leaders failed to take serious action until police cleared the camp on May 2.
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk rejected the claims, saying the university has reorganized its civil rights office, added a Title VI officer and strengthened safety and expression policies to combat antisemitism.
The filing deepens the Trump administration's widening pressure on UC: it follows a February antisemitism suit over employees and separate admissions-related actions targeting UCLA, UC San Diego and Stanford.
Can universities protect Jewish students from harassment without silencing pro-Palestinian speech on campus?
Is threatening to pull federal funding the most effective way to address antisemitism on college campuses?