I am not afraid of you: Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi’s message to U.S. President Trump

Palestinian student released after challenging arrest for protesting Israel's war, highlighting government crackdown on campus activism.

A Judge on Wednesday (April 30, 2025) released a Palestinian student at Columbia University who led protests against Israel’s war in Gaza and was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalising his U.S. citizenship.

Immigration authorities have arrested and detained college students from around the country since the first days of the Trump administration, many of whom participated in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians.

Mohsen Mahdawi is among the first of those students to win his freedom after challenging an arrest. He walked out of a Vermont courthouse on Wednesday (April 30, 2025) and led hundreds of supporters in chants including “No fear” and “Free Palestine.” He said people must come together to defend both democracy and humanity.

Also read: U.S. crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters: Who has been detained or deported

“Never give up on the idea that justice will prevail,” he said. “We want to stand up for humanity, because the rest of the world — not only Palestine — is watching us. And what is going to happen in America is going to affect the rest of the world.”

Mahdawi, 34, has been a legal permanent resident for 10 years. He was in a Vermont state prison since April 14. In his release order, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford said Mahdawi has raised a “substantial claim that the government arrested him to stifle speech with which it disagrees.”

“Even if he were a firebrand, his conduct is protected by the First Amendment,” the judge wrote, adding that offending political opponents or alarming the State Department doesn’t make him dangerous enough to justify detention.