On Tuesday, the Trump administration initiated a lawsuit against the University of California, specifically targeting UCLA. The lawsuit claims that UCLA officials have consistently disregarded and neglected to document staff reports of antisemitism, an issue reportedly exacerbated by a rise in pro-Palestinian campus activism following the 2023 Hamas assault on Israel and the subsequent conflict in Gaza.
According to court filings from the Department of Justice, UCLA is grappling with a persistent and “severe and pervasive” antisemitism issue. The DOJ highlighted various pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including one from January, which it argues are expressions of anti-Jewish or anti-Israeli sentiment.
“Our investigation suggests that UCLA administrators reportedly permitted rampant antisemitism to thrive on campus, negatively impacting both students and employees,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated on Tuesday. She added, “This lawsuit filed today reaffirms that the Department of Justice is resolute in its opposition to hatred and antisemitism in all its abhorrent manifestations.”
A spokesperson for UCLA responded, asserting that the university “steadfastly supports the definitive measures undertaken to confront antisemitism comprehensively, and we intend to robustly defend our initiatives and our steadfast dedication to ensuring a secure, welcoming atmosphere for everyone in our community.”
Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, stated, “As Chancellor [Julio] Frenk has articulated clearly: Antisemitism is detestable and has no legitimate presence at UCLA or anywhere else.” She continued, “With his guidance, UCLA has implemented tangible and substantial actions to enhance campus security, uphold regulations, and address antisemitism through a systematic and ongoing approach.”
This federal lawsuit, comprising 81 pages and lodged in California’s Central District, marks a substantial intensification of the Trump administration’s engagement with the University of California. The administration has previously initiated several civil rights inquiries into the UC system or its constituent campuses since 2025.
Last August, the Trump administration sought nearly $1.2 billion from the University of California to resolve civil rights investigations targeting UCLA. These investigations pertained to claims of antisemitism affecting students and staff, assertions of race-conscious affirmative action practices, and policies concerning the acknowledgment of transgender individuals’ gender identities on campus.
At that time, UC President James B. Milliken commented that such a payment would “utterly cripple” the university system. The government had previously suggested this fine following the suspension of $584 million in federal grants for science, health, and energy research allocated to UCLA, also citing purported civil rights infringements.
Subsequently, federal litigation initiated by UC employees led a San Francisco-based federal judge to issue interim injunctions, reinstating UCLA’s grants and invalidating significant portions of the proposed settlement. The judicial order also broadly condemned the Trump administration’s suggestions for the Westwood campus, which included proposals to ideologically vet foreign student applicants, restrict protest freedoms, disavow the acknowledgment of transgender individuals, abolish race-linked scholarships, cease gender-affirming medical care for minors, and provide personnel records to the government.
These two legal actions, in which the University of California is not a direct participant, are still progressing through the courts.
Officials at the University of California have expressed willingness to engage in discussions with the government regarding civil rights issues. Milliken, for his part, has affirmed his commitment to safeguarding the “liberty to instruct, study, and conduct research unimpeded by external intervention.”
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday originates from an investigation initiated by the department last March, focusing on claims of workplace antisemitism within the University of California system. During that period, government lawyers indicated their belief in a “possible pattern” of discriminatory behavior targeting Jewish staff members.
Although the initial investigation centered on the broader UC system, the current lawsuit specifically addresses findings related to UCLA. This legal action does not encompass other accusations made by the Trump administration last summer against UCLA, which included alleged discrimination against Jewish students, cisgender female athletes, and white and Asian American students in the admissions process. The university has consistently maintained its adherence to legal standards in all these areas.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon remarked in a statement that the “array of egregious antisemitic acts purportedly occurring, and persisting, at UCLA represent, if substantiated, a disgrace to the University of California.” Dhillon leads the Civil Rights Division, which is currently directing the inquiry into UCLA.
A significant portion of Tuesday’s lawsuit centers on the spring of 2024, a period marked by increasingly turbulent demonstrations at UCLA concerning Israel’s conflict in Gaza. A UCLA antisemitism task force discovered that Jewish students and faculty expressed “widespread perceptions of antisemitic and anti-Israeli prejudice across campus.”
Subsequently, a collective group initiated legal action, alleging that UCLA infringed upon their civil rights, ultimately securing a multi-million dollar settlement along with various concessions. Although UCLA circumvented a trial, this earlier lawsuit served as a foundational element for the UC investigations and is referenced within the newly filed legal complaint.
Since that time, several campus modifications have been implemented, such as prohibiting the use of masks to conceal identity while violating university regulations—including unauthorized overnight encampments. Last year, UCLA de-recognized Students for Justice in Palestine as an an official campus organization following findings that linked the group to the defacement of a UC regent’s property. Both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel factions have continued to voice concerns regarding the inconsistent application of university policies.
Tuesday’s lawsuit contends, “While UCLA has introduced modest adjustments to tackle the broader antagonistic climate impacting Jewish and Israeli staff members present on campus throughout the 2023 to 2024 academic period, the university has failed to adequately resolve the systemic and persistent challenges concerning the prevention and rectification of individual employee grievances related to antisemitism.”