Judge Dismisses Trump Administration's Antisemitism Suit Against Harvard, Citing Isolated Incidents

On Thursday, a federal judge in Boston threw out a lawsuit the Trump administration had brought against Harvard University, which accused the school of looking away while Jewish students were mistreated on its campus. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns ruled that the government had not shown an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law.

The suit was filed in March. Stearns noted that it concentrated mostly on incidents from the 2023-24 academic year, with a few from March 2025. In his view, those episodes were "too isolated and episodic" to establish a persistent violation at the Ivy League campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Neither Harvard nor the Department of Justice immediately commented on the ruling.

The government's complaint centered on the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that roiled Harvard after Hamas' attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. It argued that university officials did nothing while Jewish students were "harassed, physically assaulted, stalked, and spat upon." Harvard responded when the suit was filed, saying it cares deeply about its Jewish and Israeli community and is committed to seeing them embraced, respected, and able to thrive. President Alan M. Garber has said the university created a task force to combat antisemitism, hired a new provost and new deans, and revised its discipline policies to make them more consistent, fair and effective.

Money was the heart of the case. The government sought to recover billions of dollars in federal research grants awarded to Harvard since October 2023, arguing that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination based on race or national origin, entitled it to claw the funds back.

The suit was one of several actions against Harvard since the university refused a list of White House demands after Trump returned to office last year. Officials have separately tried to cut its research funding and limit its ability to enroll foreign students and U.S. military members. In a separate case last year, a federal judge ordered the administration to reverse more than $2.6 billion in funding cuts, finding that the government had imposed unconstitutional conditions and used antisemitism as a "smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault" on universities.

The two sides have nonetheless held some negotiations, and Trump himself has said they were close to a deal. Still, the March filing signaled an unusual impasse: colleges found in violation of federal civil rights law almost always reach compliance through voluntary agreements.

The ruling carries implications for the University of California, which faces its own federal suits over alleged antisemitism tied to pro-Palestinian protests. UC has not moved to dismiss them. Stearns' decision does not bind California federal courts, but it could shape arguments if UC asks a judge to throw out the claims.

The closest parallel is the suit the Justice Department filed in May in federal court in Los Angeles, alleging UCLA tolerated a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students during 2024 protests under the same civil rights law. That case is at an earlier stage and is assigned to a different judge. It also differs on timing: it cites incidents the administration says occurred after it formally notified UCLA of alleged violations in July 2025, including events between October 2025 and January 2026. A separate February suit accusing UC of discriminating against Jewish and Israeli employees rests on a workplace law, so Thursday's ruling does not directly touch it.

Those fights follow the administration's demand last August for a $1.2 billion settlement from UCLA, with a proposal seeking sweeping ideological and cultural changes on campus. A federal judge blocked much of that proposal in November. What to watch now is whether the government appeals in Boston, and whether UC moves to dismiss in Los Angeles.