judge Geoffrey W. Crawford Archives

According to Trump court filings, Mohsen Mahdawi told a Vermont gun store owner he had “extensive firearm experience” and used it “to kill Jews in Palestine.”

This is the Democrats’ cause celebre Radical judge Geoffrey W. Crawford.

Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi is free on bail after judge orders his release from federal custody

Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old U.S. permanent resident who was raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank [sic], was detained during his April 14 naturalization interview in Vermont.

Judge orders release of Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi

By Chloe Atkins and Matt Lavietes, NBC News, May 1, 2025:

Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi is free on bail after a judge ordered his release from federal immigration custody Wednesday, weeks after armed DHS agents detained him in Vermont during his naturalization interview.

Mahdawi, a 34-year-old U.S. permanent resident who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was detained April 14 and had been held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, the Northwest State Correctional Facility, in St. Albans, Vermont.

“I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you,” Mahdawi said Wednesday outside the Vermont courthouse after his release.

“What we are witnessing now and what we’re understanding is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King has said before: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he added.

From the bench, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford ordered the release of Mahdawi from prison on bail, pending the resolution of his habeas petition.

The government requested that Crawford pause Mahdawi’s release from prison for seven days by issuing a stay of the order, but the judge denied it.

Following Wednesday’s hearing, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement stating that the judge would not prevent the Trump administration from “restoring the rule of law to our immigration system.”

“It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America,” she said. “When you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, and harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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