AP
Lefty “Squad” Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman and Ilhan Omar have been slapped with a class-action lawsuit for “inciting and encouraging” the anti-Israel encampment and protests at Columbia University earlier this year.
The trio of radical Democrats were among the “outside champions” who also slammed law enforcement for breaking up the hateful demonstrations — which included masked protesters taking over a campus quad, chanting “Free Palestine!” and burning an Israeli flag and throwing rocks — resulting in the violent April 30 takeover of the school’s Hamilton Hall, according to court papers.
“If any kid is hurt tonight, responsibility will fall on the mayor and univ presidents,” AOC wrote on X April 30, adding, “a nightmare in the making.”
Five anonymous students filed the legal action against at least a dozen groups, including the virulent anti-Israel Within Our Lifetime, as well as AOC, Bowman, Omar — whose college-student daughter Isra Hirsi attends Barnard University and was arrested at the Columbia encampment.
“The Gaza Encampment was extreme and outrageous conduct. It was illegal. It violated university rules. Its occupants harassed, followed, physically blocked, intimidated, and bullied Jewish students,” the students said in the litigation.
The encampment and their cheerleaders “not only consciously disregarded the rights of others, but the impact on the rights of others was the point of the protest: the more disruption [they] could cause for the University and the [students], the more leverage they thought they would have for their agenda,” according to the lawsuit.
Two of the five student plaintiffs are Jewish. All said they were too frightened by the violent protesters’ words and actions to reveal their names.
Stefano Giovannini
One, a senior identified as “Eric Doe,” said he “felt like he was living under an ominous cloud of doubt and uncertainty as he waited for the protestors or administration’s next move that would further impact his studies and life on campus.”
“William Doe,” another senior who joined the suit, said his senior design expo was cancelled due to the encampment.
“Michael Doe,” a sophomore, claimed he was told, “Keep walking Zionist” and was followed and screamed by protesters.
“Tim Doe,” also a Jewish sophomore, left campus early “because he did not feel safe.”
“During the protests, I witnessed numerous offensive and antisemitic signs and messages, including antisemitic skunk posters with the Star of David,” he told The Post.
“In one instance, I was walking with my non-Jewish friends when I was singled out because I was wearing my yarmulke. A leader of the pro-Palestinian protest approached our group and confronted me. He singled me out, yelling that I needed to move, and when I refused, he began to shove me out of the way.”
The students said in court papers, “In a civilized community, one does not call for the obliteration of a major metropolitan area, praise terrorists, or threaten death and destruction upon our classmates and their families, friends, and coreligionists.”
The encampment, which lasted at least two weeks, forced classes online, restricted access to the campus, disrupted final exams and ultimately cancelled Columbia’s May 15 commencement ceremony.
“Those were real damages sustained by the 36,000 students at Columbia who chose to obey university rules, go to class, and pursue their education, only to be frustrated at the finish line by the … acts of their classmates and professors, with the assistance and encouragement of outside activists,” the students argued.
All three lawmakers trespassed on the campus in April — showing up “and participated in the encampment” when access to campus was supposed to be limited to those with student IDs, according to the lawsuit.
None of the congress members or other groups being sued responded to messages seeking comment.