Mahdawi (counterclockwise from top) in arrest Monday, speaking on campus, and in his biographical sketch for the Columbia University Buddhist Association. Photo credits in story below.
An earlier version of this story published a photo from Mahdawi’s social media page of Mahdawi’s cousin holding a firearm, and incorrectly stated the person in the photo was Mahdawi.
By Guy Page
Based on comments by elected officials and a slew of social media comments, what Vermonters think about Mohsen Mahdawi’s arrest seems highly influenced by what they think about Israel, Hamas and Donald Trump.
The important question that no-one is asking, much less coherently answering: under what circumstances may the U.S. government legally arrest and deport an immigrant with permanent resident ‘green card’ status? Are we, as Senate Pro Tem Phil Baruth said at a Tuesday press conference, in a terrifying new age of federal fascist authoritarianism? Or is the federal government appropriately enforcing the law?
In a column posted this week, David Soulia of FYI.VT helpfully outlines the federal law addressing deportation of green card holders. In particular he cites 8 U.S. Code § 1227 – Deportable aliens (under ‘security and other grounds, section C): which allows deportation of [presumably otherwise legal] presence and activities that would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences”:
“An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.”
And in the same law, deportation is allowed for violations of religious freedom: for ‘commission of severe violations of religious freedom, any alien ….is deportable.”
A green card may be revoked if it is determined, later, than the applicant provided fraudulent information on the application. Did Mahdawi misstate his reason for coming to the United States in 2014? At least one of VDC’s sources with connections to federal authorities claims they believe Mahdawi provided fraudulent information. Unless/until the feds release their arrest report in federal court, there’s no way of knowing.
Has Mohsen Mahdawi said or done anything deportable under this federal law? Read on and make up your own mind.
First, it must be acknowledged that Mahdawi has apparently been a ‘good citizen’ as a part-time resident in Vermont. The owner of a camp in West Fairlee, he has been active in the effort to build homeless housing in Windsor County, according to other homeless advocates. He is said to be a peace-loving bridgebuilder type in his Green Mountain State public persona.
He also is not an Islamic activist, at least not in the traditional understanding of the term. He is, or at least was at one time, a Buddhist, as shown on a Columbia University Buddhist Association website, where he listed as Mohsen Mahdawi, Visionary Advisor: “Mohsen Mahdawi discovered Buddhism shortly after moving to the United States in 2014, finding inner peace through meditation. This practice became a means for him to find solace and healing from the childhood trauma and loss he experienced under Israeli occupation in the refugee camp where he was born and raised in Palestine. Through meditation, Mohsen cultivated empathy and compassion, which fueled his passion for peacemaking and justice.”
And then, there is his Columbia University activism, and other words and actions that could be construed as a basis for federal action by any administration, not just Trump’s.
All before Donald Trump was elected, federal, city and university authorities were condemning anti-semitic statements, threats and violence at Columbia University, where Mahdawi was the leader of an umbrella group of 80 pro-Palestinian activist groups.
His high-level involvement at Columbia was known per this December, 2023 CBS 60 Minutes report and other news sources: “Mohsen Mahdawi is co-president of Columbia’s Palestinian Students Union. When the SJP and another group, Jewish Voice for Peace, were suspended last month – Mahdawi stepped up to lead a diverse, growing coalition of more than 80 campus groups.”
When Mahdawi appeared on 60 Minutes, Host Bill Whitaker asked him about his first thought upon seeing footage of the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1100 civilians. It was a golden opportunity to distance himself from the horrific violence perpetrated by Hamas. Yet Mahdawi said nothing at all about the attack itself – only that he was concerned about the Israeli “revenge” counterattack. During the same interview, he expressed ‘empathy’ for Hamas, while stopping just short of explicitly justifying the attack.
As reported already by VDC, he also has posted photos of himself holding a high-powered semi-auto rifle. He told Whitaker that he vowed revenge on Israel as a 10 year old West Bank native, holding the body of a friend shot by an Israeli soldier. Two decades later Mahdawi is seen, megaphone in hand, telling a college crowd that “there is nothing, nothing more honorable than dying for a noble cause, for freedom, for humanity, and for justice.”
But words, no matter how provocative, are one thing, and deeds are another. What, specifically, did Mahdawi do as a Columbia student activist leader, beyond saying provocative things? That depends on the extent that Mahdawi is responsible for the actions of the people he purportedly led.
Their alleged anti-semitic acts included shoving, name-calling, banging on dorm rooms at night and other activities that led Jewish students to feel particularly unsafe at the hands of the Palestinian activists.
In February 2024, Congress opened an investigation into the allegations of widespread antisemitism at Columbia University.
In April 2024, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik condemned antisemitic acts by students and faculty in campus and said the university was in a “moral crisis”. United States president Joe Biden and New York City mayor Eric Adams condemned the 2024 anti-Israel protests as antisemitic and condemned the calls for violence and harassment against Jews.
In August 2024, following months of pressure from several prominent members of Congress, President Shafik resigned and was succeeded by Katrina Armstrong as interim President. Later in August, the university’s antisemitism task force reported that the university had failed to prevent violence and hate or protect Jews in the university.
What about those masked police?
Part of the anti-Trump narrative surrounding April 14 Mahdawi’s arrest involves the apparel and vehicular choices of the police officers. They are said by some elected Vermont officials to be wearing masks, no insignia, ‘bags over their heads,’ and driving unmarked vehicles.
I wasn’t there. I haven’t seen all of the footage. But the most oft-seen photo of the arrest shows Mahdawi strolling along, flashing a peace sign with hands cuffed in front. A nearby police officer is wearing a hooded windbreaker. Most of his face is visible. His parka says Police. (True, he is wearing out-of-uniform jeans.)
For the record, the temps were between 50-60 degrees, with winds at about 5 MPH.
The rest of the footage shows officers putting Mahdawi into the back of an apparently unmarked sedan. In that footage, their faces are more covered with their parka hoods.
This CBS segment credits video footage to Christopher Helali, a Vershire resident who was the 2020 Communist Party candidate for the U.S. House, was on an FBI watch list for fighting in the middle east (against ISIS, Helali says).
Some online comments say the federal cops are hiding their features to protect their identities from retaliation by domestic terror groups using facial recognition software. Like so much other speculation about the Mahdawi case, the answer is – “Could be.”