Trump lawyer says U.S. plans to sue UC over antisemitism allegations

A Justice Department official spearheading President Trump’s battle against Harvard University — which has led to multiple lawsuits and the school losing billions in federal funding — says the administration intends to take the University of California to court over alleged antisemitism.

Leo Terrell, senior counsel for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, is heading a multiagency task force on combating antisemitism and said in a Fox News interview Tuesday that there will be “massive lawsuits against [the] UC system” and other colleges “on the East Coast, on the West Coast, in the Midwest.”

“Expect hate crime charges filed by the federal government. Expect Title VII lawsuits,” Terrell added, referring to the U.S. civil rights law that protects against employment discrimination based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin.” The task force has targeted UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley besides Harvard and six other U.S. campuses for investigations.

Speaking separately in an interview with Jewish News Syndicate, Terrell said the campuses — which also include Columbia, George Washington, Johns Hopkins, New York and Northwestern universities as well as the University of Minnesota — have rebuffed task force investigators. The task force, announced in March, has not made its intended visits to campuses, students and law enforcement because of “resistance,” he said.

Terrell, a civil rights attorney who previously worked in Los Angeles and is a former Fox News personality, did not elaborate on the “resistance” comment and did not respond to an email from The Times requesting an interview and details about the investigations and pending lawsuits.

In a statement, a UC spokesperson said the university “abhors antisemitism and is diligently working to address, counter and eradicate it in all its forms across the system.”

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“We have been, and plan to continue, cooperating with the administration. Antisemitism has no place at UC or anywhere else in society,” said Rachel Zaentz, senior director of strategic and critical communications. “The university remains entirely focused on strengthening our programs and policies to root out antisemitism and all forms of discrimination.”

UC has not released information about whether the task force has visited campuses or what information it has requested from UCLA and UC Berkeley.

A USC spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether the task force has visited the campus.

“The university continues to publicly and unequivocally denounce antisemitism in all its forms and has taken strong actions to protect all of our students — including members of our Jewish community — from illegal discrimination of any kind,” the university said in a statement. “USC is proud to attract one of the largest Jewish student bodies in the country. We look forward to engaging with the task force on USC’s efforts to combat antisemitism.”

Terrell’s group said in February that it would meet with mayors of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Boston. A spokesperson for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Wednesday that “the mayor’s office has not met with the task force.” Terrell said on Fox News that he was “ecstatic” about a recent meeting with New York Mayor Eric Adams, whom Terrell called a “new partner.”

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In March, the Education Department sent letters to 60 campuses, warning them to “protect Jewish students” or “face potential enforcement.” They included four UC campuses — San Diego, Santa Barbara, Berkeley and Davis — as well as USC, Pomona College, Stanford University, Chapman University, Santa Monica College and Sacramento State.

Also that month, the Justice Department said it had launched a civil rights investigation into allegations of antisemitism at UC, saying its attorneys believe there is a “potential pattern” of discrimination against Jewish employees at the state’s flagship higher education system.

Harvard has been under attack from the White House, which has accused the nation’s oldest university of abetting antisemitism in connection with pro-Palestinian protests of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Harvard has sued the Trump administration after being cut off from billions in federal medical research and other funding and after its ability to enroll foreign students was briefly revoked before a Boston-based federal judge issued an injunction last week. A hearing on the foreign student case will take place Thursday.

Harvard has said that it supports addressing concerns about anti-Jewish sentiment but believes that Trump is threatening academic freedom through demands to remake its governance, admissions practices, ideological diversity and student discipline.

Federal offices including the Education, Justice and Health and Human Services departments have put dozens of colleges on notice over antisemitism or discrimination allegations this year, but Harvard and Columbia have faced the strongest actions.