Erie County Celebrates Restoration of Historic Schenck House

An immigration judge has axed the Trump administration's deportation case against Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, marking another major legal blow to the government's crackdown on college campus demonstrators in recent weeks.

The judge terminated the case after determining the government failed to properly authenticate a crucial document, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Mahdawi's legal team. The 35-year-old Palestinian green-card holder faced charges of posing a "foreign-policy threat" to the U.S. following his detention in April at a citizenship interview in Vermont.

"I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government’s attempts to trample on due process," Mahdawi said.

Mahdawi arrived in the U.S. in 2014 after growing up in a West Bank refugee camp. He organized demonstrations at the Ivy League institution during the administration's spring campus crackdown targeting what it characterized as antisemitism and extremist ideology. He was among several high-profile activists detained and accused of threatening national security through their activism.

Though the dismissal prevents immediate deportation, the administration retains options to appeal or refile charges. Mahdawi's case follows the recent dismissal of charges against Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, who spent weeks in detention after police arrested her on a street, claiming she posed a deportation risk for co-writing a pro-Palestinian opinion piece.

Congressional Democrats vowed to launch investigations after Stephen Colbert said his interview with Texas State Rep. James Talarico was not allowed to air.

The post Democratic Lawmakers Vow to Investigate CBS Spiking Colbert-Talarico Interview: ‘Censorship State’ first appeared on Mediaite.

The FBI has officially notified Minnesota officials that it will not provide evidence from the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti to local law enforcement.

In a statement on Monday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said the FBI had contacted it about three shootings by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents.

"The FBI formally notified the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) on Feb. 13 that it will not provide the BCA with access to any information or evidence that it has collected in the Jan. 24 shooting death of Alex Pretti," the statement said. "The BCA reiterated the request to receive information, access to evidence, and cooperation in the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Good and the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis. It remains unclear if there will be any cooperation or sharing of information related to those two shootings."

"While this lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented, the BCA is committed to thorough, independent and transparent investigations of these incidents, even if hampered by a lack of access to key information and evidence," the statement added. "Our agency has committed to the FBI and Department of Justice that should its stance change we remain willing to share information that we have obtained with that agency and would welcome a joint investigation. We will continue to pursue all legal avenues to gain access to relevant information and evidence."

The BCA said it would continue to investigate the shootings without the FBI's cooperation.

"Anyone with information about the shooting of Alex Pretti, Renee Good or Julio Sosa-Celis is urged to contact the BCA at 651-793-7000 or by email at bca.tips@state.mn.us," the agency noted.