Judge Dismisses Trump Harvard Antisemitism Lawsuit

On August 13, 2026, U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit against Harvard University, which alleged that Harvard failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitism in violation of Civil Rights Act of 1964. The judge ruled that the government's allegations, focused largely on incidents during the 2023-2024 school year and a few isolated events in March 2025, were 'too isolated and episodic' to plausibly show an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law. The lawsuit was part of a broader clash between the administration and Harvard, which had already faced a $2.2 billion funding freeze that was blocked by Judge Allison D. Burroughs. Harvard had argued the lawsuit was retaliatory and lacked merit. The dismissal is a significant legal setback for the administration's efforts to reshape the university, though it does not resolve whether Harvard violated civil rights law in the past.