A US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s administration accusing Harvard University of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment.
US District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston ruled on Thursday that the administration had not plausibly demonstrated an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law on Harvard’s campus.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in March, alleging that Harvard’s response to antisemitism following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel was inadequate and amounted to deliberate indifference.
In his ruling, Stearns said the government’s amended complaint focused largely on incidents from the 2023-2024 academic year and cited only three incidents from March 2025.
The judge concluded that the incidents identified by the administration were too isolated and episodic to support a finding that Harvard was still institutionally failing to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The ruling does not dismiss concerns over antisemitism on campus but finds that the evidence presented by the administration did not establish an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law.
The case is part of the Trump administration’s broader confrontation with Harvard, which has included disputes over federal funding and the university’s handling of alleged antisemitism.
Harvard had rejected the administration’s allegations and previously argued that the lawsuit relied heavily on outdated incidents while failing to account for measures it had taken to address antisemitism on campus.
The dismissal represents another legal setback for the Trump administration in its efforts to pressure Harvard over its policies and handling of campus protests and alleged antisemitism.
(The Whistler)
