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A federal judge has thrown out a civil rights case that President Donald Trump's administration brought against Harvard University, which alleged the school "turned a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis."Judge Richard Stearns of Massachusetts said the Trump administration's lawsuit cited concerns that were "too isolated and episodic" to conclude that there was "institutionalized noncompliance" with federal civil rights law.Stearns, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, issued the ruling Aug. 13, siding with Harvard. He clarified that his decision was "limited to the specific circumstances" of the case, which the Trump administration brought March 20.The case outlined student experiences following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, including a series of incidents that the Trump administration called "severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment."The lawsuit alleged that Jewish students were deliberately excluded from protests of the war in Gaza, alleged that students posted antisemitic messages on an app, and alleged that Harvard administrators did not act properly on Jewish students' complaints.But Stearns said the incidents the Trump administration described were "almost entirely" limited to the 2023 and 2024 school year, and the only three other incidents described took place in March of 2025.In court documents asking for the judge to dismiss the case, Harvard said that the government "publicly declared improper motives" in bringing the case and that the suit was another part of "a year-long campaign to burden Harvard's First Amendment rights."
