Judge overturns Columbia University sanctions for anti-Israel student occupation

A New York state Supreme Court judge has vacated disciplinary sanctions against 22 former and current Columbia University students who took over Hamilton Hall in April 2024 during anti-Israel protests.

Justice Gerald Lebovits ruled on Feb. 27, 2026, that the university had improperly relied on sealed arrest records in its internal disciplinary proceedings against the students and the sealed arrests were the only evidence students were in the building during the occupation.

“Ultimately, this court concludes that the underlying disciplinary determinations were not impermissibly delayed. But respondent’s internal hearing panel was statutorily barred from taking into account the fact that petitioners had been arrested in Hamilton Hall,” Lebovits wrote. “And the fact of petitioners’ sealed arrests was the only evidence before the hearing panel that petitioners were in Hamilton Hall while it was occupied. As a result, the panel’s determinations that petitioners committed most of the charged disciplinary violations… are arbitrary and capricious.”

The court further ruled that under the university’s own guidelines, students must be charged for their individual actions based on available evidence rather than the actions of a larger group.

“The court therefore declines petitioners’ request not only to annul the challenged determinations, but also to bar recommencement of disciplinary proceedings against them,” the order stated.

Lebovits said the university could still pursue discipline if it finds other evidence not tied to the sealed arrests. He stayed the ruling for 30 days from entry to allow time for any stay request pending appeal.

A spokesperson for Columbia University said the school is reviewing the ruling and noted that students who were disciplined cannot return to campus.

“Columbia is reviewing the Court’s ruling from last Friday,” a statement provided to Fox News Digital read. “The order does not take effect for at least 30 days, and no student who was disciplined for the occupation of Hamilton Hall can return to campus at this time. Columbia is considering all of its options, including seeking a stay of the order and appealing the decision.”

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The occupation occurred between April 29 and April 30, 2024, when an anti-Israel mob took over the administrative building, Hamilton Hall. Agitators barricaded the facility, renamed it “Hind’s Hall” in honor of a 6-year-old who died during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, and briefly detained two university janitors.

During the 22-hour standoff, agitators blocked entrances, smashed glass door panes, and covered security cameras.

Footage showed the students smashing windows, unfurling a Palestinian flag over a window and chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Palestine will live forever.”

Mariano Torres and Lester Wilson, the two janitors inside at the time, later filed a lawsuit alleging they were “terrorized,” assaulted, and held against their will while protesters mocked them with antisemitic slurs.

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Students arrested that night were initially charged with misdemeanor trespass. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office later dismissed the charges, saying there was a lack of evidence, due in part to students wearing masks and blocking security cameras during the hostile takeover.

The DA’s office also moved to dismiss the charges on the understanding “that the students would be subject to Columbia’s internal disciplinary proceedings” and the records of their arrests and prosecutions were sealed under New York law.

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Columbia University’s internal hearing panel concluded that 22 students had each violated eight university conduct rules and imposed disciplinary sanctions that ranged from suspensions to expulsions to retroactive degree revocations.

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

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