Trump admin sues UCLA over alleged antisemitic behavior

The 53-page court filing alleges UCLA violated federal civil rights by tolerating a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students after Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023.

Published: May 26, 2026 7:26pm

The Trump administration sued the University of California, Los Angeles Tuesday, accusing the school of being “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitic harassment of Jewish students.

The 53-page court filing alleges UCLA violated federal civil rights by tolerating a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students after Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023.

The latest lawsuit is the third one against UCLA related to its treatment of the Jewish community on its campus, including its faculty and staff.

Tuesday's lawsuit is asking the court to force UCLA to repay federal grant money going back more than two years, bar it from new federal contracts until it’s in compliance with civil rights law and install an independent court-appointed monitor to oversee its civil rights practices, according to the LA Times.

The lawsuit comes after the Trump administration sought a $1 billion settlement with the school last year to conclude its case against the school regarding its handling of antisemitic protests and incidents on its campus. 

“Earlier this year, we sued UCLA for subjecting its Jewish and Israeli employees to an antisemitic hostile work environment,” Assistant Attorney General for civil rights Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. “Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage. 

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