Edited by: Fern Sidman

In a development that has sparked intense controversy and debate over national security, free speech, and antisemitism on U.S. college campuses, freed Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi—a prominent Palestinian activist arrested during pro-Hamas protests at the Ivy League school—was once accused of boasting about building weapons to “kill Jews” during a visit to a Vermont gun shop, according to explosive court documents reviewed by The New York Post.

The allegations, which date back to 2015, were disclosed in a federal filing submitted by the Trump administration, which sought to prevent Mahdawi’s release following his arrest for leading anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University. Despite those efforts, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered Mahdawi’s release, rejecting the government’s attempt to detain him as a national security threat.

According to documents obtained by The New York Post, Mahdawi visited a Windsor, Vermont gun store twice during the summer of 2015. During those visits, the store’s owner became alarmed enough to notify local police, claiming Mahdawi expressed an interest in sniper rifles and automatic firearms. More disturbingly, the owner told police that Mahdawi claimed to have “built modified 9mm submachine guns to kill Jews while he was in Palestine.”

The gun shop owner also cited a separate conversation involving another gun enthusiast at a nearby firearms museum, where Mahdawi allegedly said “I like to kill Jews,” according to the government’s filing.

Mahdawi, who has been a legal permanent U.S. resident for over a decade, later acknowledged to an FBI agent that he had visited both the shop and the museum but flatly denied ever making those statements. The documents, as cited by The New York Post, indicate that the FBI agent was reportedly “satisfied” with Mahdawi’s explanation and that the matter was closed at the time.

The court filing also referenced a 2019 incident at the U.S. border, in which Mahdawi was found to be carrying drugs, according to the Trump administration. However, Mahdawi has contested the charge, asserting that the items in question were prescription medications, not illegal substances. The New York Post reported that Mahdawi was sent to a state court diversion program, and any record of the incident has since been expunged.

Mahdawi was taken into custody on April 14, during what was supposed to be a routine interview related to his application for U.S. citizenship. At the time, he was serving as co-president of Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)—a group that has since been suspended by the university for its inflammatory campus activity during anti-Israel demonstrations.

The State Department later accused Mahdawi of engaging in “threatening rhetoric and intimidation” toward Jewish students on campus, behavior that federal authorities deemed inconsistent with U.S. values and a potential national security concern.

Despite the Trump administration’s detailed case against him, Judge Geoffrey Crawford ruled against further detention, stating that Mahdawi presented a “substantial claim that the government arrested him to stifle speech with which it disagrees.”

“Even if he were a firebrand,” Crawford wrote in his decision, “his conduct is protected by the First Amendment.” The judge also noted that offending political opponents or upsetting State Department officials does not automatically render someone dangerous or detainable.

This decision was met with immediate criticism from pro-Israel groups and national security experts, many of whom cited Mahdawi’s past remarks and Hamas activism as indicators of extremist ideology.