I will only make one reply and leave it at that because it was almost impossible to make progress with people on Matt’s post about this last week. Khalil was a known leader of an organization that committed violent and illegal acts at Columbia. Rubio has alluded to evidence that he was involved in planning these actions (used the term “m…
I will only make one reply and leave it at that because it was almost impossible to make progress with people on Matt’s post about this last week. Khalil was a known leader of an organization that committed violent and illegal acts at Columbia. Rubio has alluded to evidence that he was involved in planning these actions (used the term “mastermind”). So let’s see the state’s evidence. And we can all attach disclaimers to those statements that he lime anyone has the presumption of innocence. But nor do people have blanket immunity from having allegations made against them by the state, so long as they have due process (which Khalil has had).
My comment focused on articles and reader comments about Khalil, none of which (among those I've seen) provided any evidence supporting their claims against Khalil. It's remarkable to see how certain people can be of things they apparently have no evidence of. It remains to be seen if the government has any such evidence, but based on what I've seen so far, I doubt it.
Khalil explicitly denied being a "leader" of CUAD in the sense of directing the protestors. CUAD is a coalition of about 80 student groups. Some of the protestors explicitly called for peaceful means, others called for or used violence. He described himself as a spokesman and negotiator for a student protest groups (1). The claim that that means he supports everything that any of the protestors support or did isn't even logically consistent, given the wide range of viewpoints among the protestors. It's analogous to claiming that Donald Trump was personally responsible for the Jan. 6 protestors who were violent, a claim that I argued against though I don't support him. Some of those protestors were violent, some were peaceful. Does the fact that Trump called for the protest make him guilty of the violence?
The statements I have seen from Khalil are contrary to the claims made abuot him. For example, he says in an interview (2 at 27:07), "We are here to affirm that we believe that the struggle to achieve liberation - Palestinian and Jewish liberation - is intertwined and go hand-by-hand."
Columbia University's graduate student union is demanding the Ivy League institution establish a "sanctuary campus" where public safety officers are barred from patrolling "organizing spaces, including classrooms." The union, which is embroiled in active contract negotiations with Columbia, also wants the school to provide free "legal support" for student visa holders, destroy "all records" related to campus protest participants, and sue the Trump administration "and other anti-immigrant actors."
Student Workers of Columbia, which boasts roughly 3,000 members and is affiliated with the United Auto Workers, shared an internal document outlining the demands during a Saturday Zoom meeting, which the Washington Free Beacon attended. The document, written by a "working group" of the union's international members, cites the "unprecedented detainment of former student-worker Mahmoud Khalil by the Department of Homeland Security while in a Columbia University apartment building and the ongoing presence of ICE around campus" before making "immediate demands of Columbia University."
That's interesting, but I'm not sure what your point is. My point was that none of the articles or reader comments I've seen denouncing Khalil provided any evidence whatsoever that he is guilty of the things the Trump administration has alleged. The article you cited, while relevant to the general issue, doesn't provide any such evidence either.
This type of discussion often change focus from a specific question (e.g., Khalil's arrest and whether there's evidence of his guilt) to more general issues (what Columbia student groups are demanding, how they view Khalil, etc.).
I understand your point. I'm just tired of activists taking over the public square, making Universities hotbeds of unrest, fomenting others to take actions that threaten or harms others. Khalil uses his position to do just that. He is a shill for the British government and the Biden admin knew that when he was given a green card.
I will only make one reply and leave it at that because it was almost impossible to make progress with people on Matt’s post about this last week. Khalil was a known leader of an organization that committed violent and illegal acts at Columbia. Rubio has alluded to evidence that he was involved in planning these actions (used the term “mastermind”). So let’s see the state’s evidence. And we can all attach disclaimers to those statements that he lime anyone has the presumption of innocence. But nor do people have blanket immunity from having allegations made against them by the state, so long as they have due process (which Khalil has had).
My comment focused on articles and reader comments about Khalil, none of which (among those I've seen) provided any evidence supporting their claims against Khalil. It's remarkable to see how certain people can be of things they apparently have no evidence of. It remains to be seen if the government has any such evidence, but based on what I've seen so far, I doubt it.
Khalil explicitly denied being a "leader" of CUAD in the sense of directing the protestors. CUAD is a coalition of about 80 student groups. Some of the protestors explicitly called for peaceful means, others called for or used violence. He described himself as a spokesman and negotiator for a student protest groups (1). The claim that that means he supports everything that any of the protestors support or did isn't even logically consistent, given the wide range of viewpoints among the protestors. It's analogous to claiming that Donald Trump was personally responsible for the Jan. 6 protestors who were violent, a claim that I argued against though I don't support him. Some of those protestors were violent, some were peaceful. Does the fact that Trump called for the protest make him guilty of the violence?
The statements I have seen from Khalil are contrary to the claims made abuot him. For example, he says in an interview (2 at 27:07), "We are here to affirm that we believe that the struggle to achieve liberation - Palestinian and Jewish liberation - is intertwined and go hand-by-hand."
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university.html
[2] https://www.youtube.com/live/kI3VrmZCVfY?t=2190s
Columbia University's graduate student union is demanding the Ivy League institution establish a "sanctuary campus" where public safety officers are barred from patrolling "organizing spaces, including classrooms." The union, which is embroiled in active contract negotiations with Columbia, also wants the school to provide free "legal support" for student visa holders, destroy "all records" related to campus protest participants, and sue the Trump administration "and other anti-immigrant actors."
Student Workers of Columbia, which boasts roughly 3,000 members and is affiliated with the United Auto Workers, shared an internal document outlining the demands during a Saturday Zoom meeting, which the Washington Free Beacon attended. The document, written by a "working group" of the union's international members, cites the "unprecedented detainment of former student-worker Mahmoud Khalil by the Department of Homeland Security while in a Columbia University apartment building and the ongoing presence of ICE around campus" before making "immediate demands of Columbia University."
tps://freebeacon.com/campus/in-internal-documents-columbia-grad-student-union-spells-out-demands-for-sanctuary-campus-free-from-public-safety-patrols-and-protest-records/
That's interesting, but I'm not sure what your point is. My point was that none of the articles or reader comments I've seen denouncing Khalil provided any evidence whatsoever that he is guilty of the things the Trump administration has alleged. The article you cited, while relevant to the general issue, doesn't provide any such evidence either.
This type of discussion often change focus from a specific question (e.g., Khalil's arrest and whether there's evidence of his guilt) to more general issues (what Columbia student groups are demanding, how they view Khalil, etc.).
I understand your point. I'm just tired of activists taking over the public square, making Universities hotbeds of unrest, fomenting others to take actions that threaten or harms others. Khalil uses his position to do just that. He is a shill for the British government and the Biden admin knew that when he was given a green card.