A group of Columbia University students have filed a class-action lawsuit against three members of the congressional “Squad” for their roles in the school’s pro-Palestine protests this spring.
The students, who filed the suit anonymously, accused Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., of helping create an unsafe environment on campus.
Rep. Omar visited Columbia in April, when hundreds of protesters set up an encampment to demand the university divest from companies they said were helping Israel in its war with Hamas terrorists.
She later posted on social media that the students were “joyfully” demonstrating, in contrast to what some Jewish community members described as intimidating.
“Contrary to right-wing attacks, these students are joyfully protesting for peace and an end to the genocide taking place in Gaza. I’m in awe of their bravery and courage,” Omar wrote on X.
After New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised protesters to leave Hamilton Hall, an academic building protesters broke into and barricaded themselves inside days after Omar’s visit, Ocasio-Cortez warned him against using police to clear the academic building.
“If any kid is hurt tonight, responsibility will fall on the mayor and univ presidents. Other leaders and schools have found a safe, de-escalatory path. This is the opposite of leadership and endangers public safety,” she posted on X. “A nightmare in the making.”
The New York City Police Department later carried out arrests of protesters in and around Hamilton Hall. Rep. Bowman said the following day the officers were brutalizing the demonstrators.
“Now I see that brutality being inflicted on peaceful students at Columbia and across the country. We must stand with our students to demand liberation for Palestinians and everyone in this world,” Bowman wrote.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik moved classes online and restricted campus access during the protests before canceling commencement. The students who sued the “Squad” members accused outside “activists” of contributing to the loss of campus resources.
“Those were real damages sustained by the 36,000 students at Columbia who chose to obey university rules, go to class, and pursue their education, only to be frustrated at the finish line by the tortious acts of their classmates and professors, with the assistance and encouragement of outside activists,” they said in the lawsuit.
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