In yet another display of left-wing campus lunacy, a group of Columbia University students chained themselves to a gate on campus, demanding the school reveal the name of the trustee they claim reported anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Their protest, which quickly turned into a spectacle, was aimed at pressuring the university to denounce the lawful detention of a man accused of ties to Hamas.
Khalil, a Syrian national and one of the leaders of Columbia’s anti-Israel encampment in 2024, was detained in early March by ICE agents in New York City. The Department of Homeland Security has alleged that he was actively involved in activities “aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Despite this serious accusation, radical students have mobilized to defend him, prioritizing their ideological crusade over national security.
The protest began outside Columbia’s St. Paul’s Chapel on Wednesday afternoon, with students from the Columbia Palestine Solidarity Committee vowing not to leave until the university revealed which trustee allegedly reported Khalil to immigration authorities.
“FREE MAHMOUD KHALIL. NAME THE TRUSTEE,” the group raged on social media, openly calling for the doxxing of a university trustee simply for upholding the law. Their post continued: “Jewish students will not leave. They will remain chained to the campus gates until @Columbia University is held accountable.”
It took university public safety officers only two hours to break up the scene. Columbia confirmed in a statement that the handful of protesters were “removed” after refusing to leave the area. “The chains were removed by Columbia’s Public Safety and the individuals were escorted off campus,” the university said.
Following the ejection of the chained protesters, others remained outside the gates, linking arms and insisting they would stay put until Columbia admitted who allegedly alerted ICE. Their efforts were punctuated by dramatic flair, including a massive banner unfurled from an overpass that read: “Free Mahmoud Khalil. Name the trustees.”
Predictably, Columbia University’s leadership distanced itself from the incident, issuing a carefully worded statement denying any involvement in ICE enforcement. “No member of our leadership or the board of trustees has ever requested the presence of ICE agents on or near campus,” a spokesperson assured. The school reiterated that law enforcement agencies need a judicial warrant to enter university buildings.
Meanwhile, outside the gates of St. Paul’s Chapel, roughly 80 protesters remained, shouting their demands while New York Police Department officers monitored the situation.
The case of Mahmoud Khalil is yet another example of the radicalization taking place on America’s college campuses. A foreign national accused of ties to Hamas—a terrorist organization responsible for horrific attacks against civilians—is being shielded by elite university students who view themselves as above the law. Instead of condemning extremism, Columbia’s activist class is more concerned with targeting law-abiding trustees and defending an individual with alleged links to violent jihadist activities.
With protests like these, one thing is clear: America’s higher education institutions are breeding grounds for radical activism, where the rule of law is despised, and lawbreakers are glorified. The question remains—how long will universities like Columbia continue to indulge this dangerous descent into ideological extremism?
