Federal prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles, claiming the institution failed to shield Jewish staff members from antisemitic harassment during campus demonstrations that disrupted the university in 2023 and 2024.
The federal case, submitted Tuesday in a California court, represents another step in the Trump administration’s efforts to hold major universities accountable for what officials describe as inadequate responses to antisemitism. The legal action claims UCLA did not take disciplinary action against protest participants, including numerous individuals who were taken into custody in 2024 after refusing to vacate a campus demonstration site.
University representatives have not yet provided a statement regarding the lawsuit.
Federal authorities had previously concluded that UCLA inadequately protected Jewish students, leading to a $6 million agreement last year between the university and three Jewish students plus one Jewish faculty member who had filed their own legal action. The current federal lawsuit contends that the damage to Jewish and Israeli staff members extends far beyond what the previous settlement covered.
The legal filing states: “The United States will now do what UC has thus far failed to do: protect Jewish and Israeli employees” from antisemitic harassment.
A significant portion of the legal complaint centers on the 2024 demonstration encampment, which federal authorities claim prevented Jewish staff and students from accessing certain campus areas and featured antisemitic messaging and verbal expressions. The lawsuit contends UCLA broke its own regulations by permitting the encampment to continue and charges the institution with failing to impose consequences on any students, faculty, or staff for antisemitic conduct.
Federal prosecutors are requesting that a judge compel UCLA to implement its existing anti-discrimination rules and provide financial compensation to Jewish employees who experienced a hostile workplace.
The current administration has largely concentrated on prestigious private institutions in its effort to ensure compliance from universities it characterizes as having liberal and antisemitic tendencies. UCLA represents one of the rare public institutions being pursued in this initiative.
During the summer, the Trump administration indicated it was pursuing $1 billion from UCLA as part of an agreement to conclude federal oversight. Administration officials had withdrawn hundreds of millions in federal support from the institution, although a federal judge mandated the funds be reinstated in September.
