Columbia anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil was probed as national security threat, source says as Trump calls ICE bust first arrest of many

Columbia University protest ringleader Mahmoud Khalil was being investigated as a potential national security threat, a source said Monday — as President Trump warned the anti-Israel agitator’s bust will be the “first arrest of many.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio was “presented with intelligence” that determined Khalil — a Syrian-born Palestinian who received his graduate degree from the elite school in December — was a threat to national security, a White House source said.It wasn’t immediately known what intelligence Rubio was shown.But the source said the Department of Homeland Security has been “gathering intel” on those “actively engaging in supporting Hamas” — not just everyday protesters — since Trump’s executive order cracking down on anti-Israel demonstrators in the US on green cards.DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed this in a statement that also alleged Khalil was involved in activities tied to Hamas.“On March 9, 2025, in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student.Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,” she said.“ICE and the Department of State are committed to enforcing President Trump’s executive orders and to protecting U.S.

national security.”Trump took to Truth Social Monday afternoon to boast about Khalil’s arrest, and fired a shot across the bow of other colleges where anti-Israel protests have taken place.“Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University,” he posted.“This is the first arrest of many to come.We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Se...