Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit alleging antisemitism at
Harvard University
[August 14, 2026]
By COLLIN BINKLEY
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Boston on Thursday dismissed a
Trump administration lawsuit that accused Harvard University of turning
a blind eye to harassment of Jewish students.
The decision from U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns said that
President Donald Trump's administration failed to prove an ongoing
violation of federal civil rights laws. The judge said the lawsuit,
filed in March, mostly focuses on incidents that took place in the
2023-24 academic year, with a few from March 2025.
The cases were “too isolated and episodic” to prove a persistent civil
rights violation at the Ivy League campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
the judge said.
“We disagree with the ruling and are assessing next steps,” said Harmeet
Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department
of Justice. Harvard did not immediately provide a comment on the
decision.
The lawsuit accused Harvard of failing to protect Jewish students during
pro-Palestinian demonstrations that roiled the campus after Hamas' Oct.
7, 2023, attacks on Israel. The Trump administration argued Harvard
officials did nothing as Jewish students were “harassed, physically
assaulted, stalked, and spat upon.”
In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, Harvard said it “cares
deeply about members of our Jewish and Israeli community and remains
committed to ensuring they are embraced, respected, and can thrive on
our campus.”
Harvard President Alan M. Garber says the university formed a task force
to combat antisemitism. The university also hired a new provost and new
deans and reformed its discipline policies to make them “more
consistent, fair and effective,” Garber has said.
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The government's case sought to recover billions of dollars in
federal research grants awarded to Harvard since October 2023. Trump
officials argued they had a right to recoup the money under Title VI
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law barring
discrimination based on race or national origin.
The lawsuit is among several actions the government has taken
against Harvard since the Ivy League university refused a list of
demands made by the White House after Trump, a Republican, returned
to office last year. Trump officials have separately sought to cut
Harvard's research funding and limit its ability to enroll foreign
students and U.S. military members.
In a separate legal case last year, a federal judge ordered the
Trump administration to reverse more than $2.6 billion in federal
funding cuts to Harvard. That decision found that the White House
put unconstitutional conditions on federal funding, using
antisemitism as a “smokescreen for a targeted,
ideologically-motivated assault” on universities.
Despite their bitter dispute, Harvard and the Trump administration
have held some negotiations, and Trump himself said the two sides
had been close to reaching an agreement. But when the Justice
Department filed this civil rights lawsuit in March, it pointed to
an extraordinary impasse. When colleges are found in violation of
federal civil rights law, they almost always reach compliance
through voluntary agreements.
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