Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
On Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, the Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs announced that the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism would visit ten universities, including Hopkins, to assess reports of antisemitic incidents and determine potential further action.
The task force, which was created by the DOJ following President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, aims to eliminate antisemitism in academic settings. According to a press release by the DOJ's Office of Public Affairs, the task force will engage with university leadership, affected students and staff, community members and local law enforcement during visits to gather more information on incidents and determine “whether remedial action is warranted.” Leo Terrell, the leading member of the task force, informed all 10 universities on Feb. 27 that the task force was aware of allegations that the universities may have violated federal law and failed to protect Jewish students and faculty from discrimination and harassment.
“The Task Force’s mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate Anti-Semitism, particularly in schools. These visits are just one of many steps this Administration is taking to deliver on that commitment,” Terrell said.
The task force will also visit nine other universities: Columbia University; George Washington University, Harvard University; New York University; Northwestern University; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California.
In February 2024, the Department of Education launched an investigation in response to allegations that the University failed to respond to harassment of Jewish students during the 2023–24 school year. On Jan. 7, 2024, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) stated that the documentation provided by Hopkins during the investigation raised “compliance concerns” with the University’s Title VI obligation to prevent a hostile environment based on shared ancestry during the 2023-2024 academic year. The University entered into a voluntary resolution agreement with the OCR, which does not indicate an admission of liability, wrongdoing or violation of Title VI, and committed to address these concerns through specific actions.
