Leo Terrell condemns his alma mater's anti-Israel chaos
Civil rights attorney and University of California-Los Angeles grad Leo Terrell tells 'Life, Liberty & Levin' the federal government must act now.
Civil rights attorney and University of California-Los Angeles alumnus Leo Terrell called out his alma mater for its response to anti-Israel chaos on campus, adding that every other presidential administration save for Joe Biden's would have rightly protected Jewish students under Title VI.
"First of all, let me be very clear: Let's not use the First Amendment to describe the criminal anti-Semitic conduct that happened at UCLA, a school that I attended; law school," Terrell told "Life, Liberty & Levin," calling the university a "national embarrassment."
Terrell earned his juris doctor from UCLA's law school, while he received his undergraduate degree from California State University-Dominguez Hills.
Police required riot gear to break up protests and dismantle a tent city on the UCLA campus on Thursday, the same day Chancellor Gene Block wrote an open letter recognizing "deep pain" on campus, while promising an investigation into violence there. Block declared the tent city unlawful and a "breach of policy."
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Pro-Palestine Protesters stand with shields across from members of law enforcement in an encampment at UCLA on May 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. ((Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images))
Terrell also faulted the Biden administration for inaction against the protests, citing previous federal actions to break up unlawful or dangerous protests.
"There is enough federal law and protection that is not being used by the Biden administration. Why? Because they are playing politics," said Terrell, who previously espoused the claim Biden and others fear Democratic voter revolt in key-swing-state Michigan in an election year. The Great Lakes State has a marked Arab population.
Terrell specifically cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, creed or national origin, as well as ensuring equal protection in accessing government services.
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"I'm old enough to remember when Black kids were protected by the federal government in the 50s and 60s. Joe Biden has abandoned Jewish Americans throughout this country," he said.
"Jewish Americans deserve the same protection as any American citizen in this country. But he's playing Michigan politics. How dare they allow these criminals to dominate these universities and then be released on the street?"
In one prime example, then-Arkansas Democratic Gov. Orval Faubus prevented Black students whom from attending, and therefore desegregating, the all-White Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Then-President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, issued an executive order federalizing the state's national guard and ultimately forcing Faubus to back down.
Terrell said Biden or members of his cabinet have the power to protect Jewish students by charging demonstrators under federal statutes and having the Department of Education cut funding from colleges that refuse to enforce the law or provide equal access.
"Cut off every nickel and dime of federal taxpayer dollars to these Ivy League schools and colleges that promote Hamas and the Palestinians over there. Where is the FBI investigation? Where is Merrick Garland? Where is the power of the federal government? Where are the federal marshals to escort Jewish American kids to school?" he asked.
"The federal government and Joe Biden have given these terrorists the green light to attack, harm, or damage and deny Jewish Americans to exist in this country. It is embarrassing and shameful."
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