President Trump promised to imprison or deport campus agitators and halt federal funding to schools that allow “illegal protests,” weighing in hours after his administration threatened to suspend federal grants to Columbia University over its handling of campus antisemitism.
“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” Mr. Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social.
“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” he said. “American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
He didn’t specifically cite pro-Palestinian protesters, but his comments came shortly after the newly formed Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said it will consider placing Stop Work Orders on $51.4 million in contracts and grants with Columbia, a hotbed of anti-Israel activism.
The campus demonstrators who flooded Columbia and other colleges after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israeli civilians are known for wearing masks and keffiyehs to cover their faces.
The antisemitism task force added in its Monday press release that it “will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University to ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities.”
President Trump lays down the new rules on campus protests. No more federal funding for schools that allow illegal protests to continue. Foreign students sent home, American students expelled.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 4, 2025
And no masks to hide identities of criminals.
This is exactly spot on. pic.twitter.com/A1srWQuLGJ
The president said he would take action against “illegal protests,” not all protests, but his statement spurred warnings over the First Amendment rights of demonstrators.
“There is indeed a line between illegal and legal protests. But the administration hasn’t always accurately drawn it, chilling speech,” Nico Perrino, executive vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, posted on X.
He added that agitators “should not be deported when their agitation is First Amendment protected activity.”
The American Civil Liberties Union issued an open letter to colleges and universities urging them “to reject any federal pressure to surveil or punish international students and faculty based on constitutionally protected speech.”
Peaceful protest is protected under the First Amendment, but examples of “illegal protests” could include erecting tent cities on campus and barricading university buildings in violation of school rules and trespassing laws.
“People are asking, ’What’s an illegal protest?’” said Joel M. Petlin, a New York school superintendent and pro-Israel commentator, on X. “Let’s start with taking over school buildings, assaulting staff, vandalizing school property, setting up encampments & blocking students from attending classes.”
Dozens of students were arrested for trespassing in May during the barricade of Columbia’s Hamilton Hall, but prosecutors ended up dropping most of those charges, saying it was difficult to prove individual culpability because the protesters wore masks and blocked security cameras.
In January, four masked protesters crashed the first day of the History of Modern Israel class at Columbia, passing out flyers with antisemitic imagery and refusing repeated requests to leave. Two students from Barnard College, the women’s school affiliated with Columbia, were expelled last month over the incident, according to the professor.
A third Barnard student was expelled in the past week over the April 30 takeover of Hamilton Hall, according to Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group not recognized by the New York City college.
The expulsions are believed to be the first at Columbia or Barnard in response to the anti-Israel activism after Oct. 7.
In a Monday statement, Columbia officials said the university is “fully committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination” and that “glorifying violence or terror has no place at our University.”
“We look forward to ongoing work with the new federal administration to fight antisemitism, and we will continue to make all efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff,” said the university.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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