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Tags: eeoc | columbia university | janitors | protests

Feds to Probe Columbia Janitors' Claims Amid Antisemitic Protests

By    |   Monday, 17 March 2025 05:13 PM EDT

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will investigate Columbia University after two janitors accused the school of retaliating against them after they accused protestors of antisemitism, the New York Post reported.

Lester Wilson and Mario Torres accused the school of retaliatory harassment for "reporting antisemitic and racist conduct" during the pro-Palestinian protests by students last year.

"We welcome the EEOC's decision to open an investigation into Mario's and Lester's charges of discrimination," former Attorney General Bill Barr, whose law firm is representing Wilson and Torres, told the Post in a statement.

"Columbia has a legal and moral obligation to protect the civil rights of its students and employees. It must be held accountable when it fails to do so," he added.

The complaint claims that shortly after the protests, Wilson saw swastikas drawn on Hamilton Hall, where the protests took place, and "found the images deeply distressing. He reported them to his supervisors, who instructed him to erase the graffiti."

Wilson and Torres claim that they were made to erase dozens of swastikas but were told by campus security that "the trespassers and vandals were exercising their First Amendment rights" and that "nothing could be done."

"They were so offensive, and Columbia's inaction was so frustrating, that he eventually began throwing away chalk that had been left in the classrooms so vandals would not have anything to write with," the complaint states, adding that "Torres was reprimanded by his supervisor for doing so."

Columbia University declined to comment on the complaint or the probe by the EEOC, a federal agency that enforces civil rights laws in the workplace.

Theodore Bunker

Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will investigate Columbia University after two janitors accused the school of retaliating against them after they accused protestors of antisemitism, the New York Post reported.
eeoc, columbia university, janitors, protests
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2025-13-17
Monday, 17 March 2025 05:13 PM
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