Special Report: The Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil

Richard and Sonali discuss the implications of this attack on speech.

In this video, Zero Hour Senior Correspondent Sonali Kolhatkar joins me to discuss the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University and a leading figure in anti-apartheid, pro-Palestinian protests.

Many of you already know the details of this fast-breaking story. The available information suggests that this was an illegal detention, coordinated directly from the White House, for the purpose of silencing political speech in the United States.

Why “illegal”? Because US law states that “an immigration judge shall conduct proceedings for deciding the inadmissibility or deportability of an alien,” and Mr. Khalil was not brought before a judge.

Because, as a resident, “you have a right to defend your case in immigration court.”

And because permanent residents like Mr. Khalil have the right to “be protected by all laws of the United States, your state of residence and local jurisdictions”—protection that appears to have been denied to him.

Key Points of Conversation:

• The parallels between this arrest and the post-9/11 era under the Patriot Act.

• Trump’s actions as an escalation of this trend.

• The pretext of combating antisemitism to suppress free speech.

• The misrepresentation of pro-Palestinian encampments as violent, despite being peaceful spaces for dialogue.

• Conservative hatred of universities as liberal strongholds.

• The Democratic Party’s role in enabling this repression, since the militarization of campuses and suppression of protests began under Biden.

• A call for widespread public outcry against Khalil’s arrest, and the importance of contacting Congress members and senators.

Please join us in confronting this assault on freedom and human rights.

Thanks so much,