WASHINGTON: A federal judge in Boston has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration accusing Harvard University of failing to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence.
US District Judge Richard G. Stearns ruled on Thursday that the government had not shown a continuing violation of federal civil rights law. He said the lawsuit, filed in March, relied mainly on incidents from the 2023–24 academic year, along with a small number of cases reported in March 2025.
According to the judge, the incidents were “too isolated and episodic” to establish a lasting civil rights violation at Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The lawsuit followed months of pro Palestinian demonstrations at the university after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Government lawyers accused Harvard officials of failing to act while Jewish students were allegedly harassed, assaulted, followed and spat upon.
Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said the administration disagreed with the decision and was considering its next steps. Harvard did not immediately comment.
The government had sought to recover billions of dollars in federal research funding awarded to Harvard since October 2023. It argued that the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin.
The case is part of a wider conflict between Harvard and President Donald Trump’s administration. The government has also attempted to restrict the university’s research funding and its ability to enroll foreign students.
Last year, another federal judge ordered the administration to restore more than $2.6 billion in funding cuts, saying the White House had used antisemitism as a pretext for an unconstitutional attack on universities.
