House Republicans Showed Up at a Campus Protest. Of Course.

Published

10 months ago

May 6, 2024

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Representative Lauren Boebert had an important point to make. But it could be difficult to hear the rabble-rousing Republican from Colorado over a packed-in crowd of counter-agitators.

So this is what the students here at GW University are facing each and every day, Boebert was trying to say into a bank of microphones in the middle of the downtown Washington, D.C., campus of George Washington University on Wednesday afternoon. She and five of her GOP colleagues from the House Oversight Committee had just toured an encampment of tents, or a liberation camp, that protesters had put up last week in opposition to Israels war in Gaza.

Their learning activities are being disrupted, Boebert said of the students. Their finals are being disrupted.

But protesters kept disrupting Boebert. Or were she and her friends from Congress the disrupters in this particular Washington-bubble showdown? Who were the rabble in this equation, and who were the rousers?

What about you in that theater? one woman called out at Boebert from the back of the crowd, referring to a September incident in which the congresswoman was kicked out of a musical comedy after canoodling with a date, vaping, and talking in the midst of the production.

This was not the same protester as the one who had been trailing behind Boebert holding up a cardboard sign that said, simply, Beetlejuice , referring to the play that shed been evicted from. (Google it, and youll find security footage of the episodeor dont.)

David A. Graham: Bidens patience with campus protests runs out

If only theaters could always incubate such frivolity. But these are bloody days in the embattled theater of the Middle East, which have in turn triggered a spate of protests on American campuses, marked by episodes of bigotry, sporadic violence, and arrests. Combine this with a group of elected performance artists who couldnt help but try to grab a cheap morsel of attention from this bitterly serious conflict, and you have the political theater that played out on Wednesday.

Dude, are you gonna talk, or am I gonna talk? Representative Byron Donalds, Republican of Florida, admonished a protester who interrupted his turn at the mic, after Boebert had spoken. Donalds wore dark glasses and a tight-fitting navy suit.

Like his colleagues, Donalds called for the immediate removal of the protesters from campussomething that, to this point, the D.C. police department has declined to do. The mayor is weak in the face of foolishness, Donalds said, referring to Washingtons chief executive, Muriel Bowser.

You wouldnt allow someone to stay in your house or stay in your dorm room. You would have them removed, Donalds said. Everybody believes in peaceful protest, but this is trespassing.

What about January 6? a man standing next to me called out. Yes, what about that, sir?

Calm down. Im talking now, Donalds said, addressing another heckler.

Tyler Austin Harper: Americas colleges are reaping what they sowed

About 20 minutes earlier, Representative James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, had also urged calm as he paraded through the tent city. People shouted after Comer, mocking his committees fizzling effort to impeach President Joe Biden, while another said something about Hunter Biden. The voices and signs all blurred together into a muggy cacophony.

Lauren Boebert, seen any good movies lately?

Lesbians for Palestine .

I Stand With Israel .

Comer led his delegation past a row of tables covered with donated food for the protesterspizza, granola bars, peanuts, bags of tangerines. Everything is FREE, like Palestine will be free , advertised a poster on the food spread, which covered several yards at the edge of the quad.

Mr. Chairman, do you think your appearance today is going to lead to police violence on campus? a man with a British accent asked Comer.

Probably, the congressman said, projecting zero concern.

You want some pizza? another onlooker asked Comer, who kept walking.

The congressman seemed eager to get on with the quick and chaotic press conference that would punctuate the lawmakers visit. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, thank you, an outnumbered supporter yelled out. The congressman waited for his colleagues to make their brief statements and seized the closing message for himself.

Help is on the way for George Washington University, promised Comer, who then joined his colleagues as they struggled through a thick crowdand a Beetlejuice chantbefore departing this enclave of academia and heading back to their own pillared sanctum on Capitol Hill.

US

Mahmoud Khalil: Nearly 100 arrested in New York after Trump Tower protest in support of pro-Palestinian activist

Published

3 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Mahmoud Khalil: Nearly 100 arrested in New York after Trump Tower protest in support of pro-Palestinian activist

Jewish protesters have stormed Trump Tower in the city of New York, demanding the release of a pro-Palestinian activist arrested by immigration officials.

At least 150 people poured into the building’s lobby in midtown Manhattan to demonstrate against the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, who led Columbia University protests in 2024 against Israel’s war in Gaza.

The group from Jewish Voice for Peace carried banners, wore red shirts reading “Jews say stop arming Israel” and chanted “Bring Mahmoud home now!”

Local police said 98 were arrested on charges including trespassing, obstruction and resisting arrest.

Donald Trump previously described Mr Khalil, 30, who has lawful permanent resident status in the US, as “anti-American”. He is married to an American citizen.

The postgraduate student, from Columbia University’s school of international and public affairs, has been a prominent figure in the university’s pro-Palestinian student protest movement.

This week, his deportation was put on hold while his lawyers challenged his detention at an immigration detention centre in Louisiana. On Saturday, he was arrested outside his university residence in Upper Manhattan.

He has not been charged with a crime.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has claimed he has reasonable grounds to believe Mr Khalil’s activities or presence in the country could have “serious adverse foreign policy consequences”.

On Thursday, Mr Khalil’s lawyers asked a federal judge to release him from immigration detention.

They argued that President Trump’s administration targeted him for deportation because of his activism, and his detention is a violation of the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.

Mahmoud Khalil: An American tolerance test

There’s more to this story than the story itself.

In Donald Trump’s USA, the proceedings against Mahmoud Khalil are an American tolerance test.

At the heart of it is the US Constitution itself and the First Amendment that enshrines the right to free speech.

Mahmoud Khalil is the measure of where it starts and where it ends – the fate of others will turn on his test case.

As President Trump put it, his arrest is the first of “many to come”, citing students who had “engaged in pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity”.

Politics

Vermont follows SEC’s lead, drops staking legal action against Coinbase

Published

5 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Vermont follows SEC’s lead, drops staking legal action against Coinbase

US state Vermont has dropped its “show cause order” against crypto exchange Coinbase for allegedly offering unregistered securities to users through a staking service.

Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation said in a March 13 order that in light of the US Securities and Exchange Commission tossing out its case on Feb. 28, it would follow suit and rescind its action against Coinbase without prejudice.

“The SEC has announced the formation of a new task force to, among other things, provide guidance for the promulgation of rules regarding the regulation of cryptocurrency products and services,” the department said.

*Vermont’s financial regulator has decided to drop its legal action against Coinbase. Source:* *Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation*

“In light of the dismissal of the Federal Action and likelihood of new federal regulatory guidance, the Division believes it would be most efficient and in the best interests of justice to rescind the pending Show Cause Order, without prejudice.”

On the same day the SEC filed its lawsuit in June 2023, the US states of Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin said they were launching legal proceedings against Coinbase.

The show cause order asserted that Coinbase was violating securities laws by offering staking to its users without a license and demanded the exchange provide a reason why the courts shouldn’t hit them with an order directing them to halt the service.

Now that Vermont has opted out, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said in a March 13 statement to X that the other states with staking actions should take a “page from Vermont’s playbook.”

“As we have always said: staking services are not securities. We applaud Vermont for embracing progress and providing clarity for its citizens who own digital assets,” he said.

“Our work isn’t over. Congress must seize the bipartisan momentum we’re seeing across the House and Senate to pass comprehensive legislation that takes into account the novel features of digital assets, such as staking,” he added.

A growing number of firms facing legal action from the SEC have had their cases dismissed in the wake of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who took a hardline stance toward crypto, resigning on Jan. 20.

Crypto trading firm Cumberland DRW was among the latest to have its case dropped on March 4, while the regulator is reportedly wrapping up its enforcement action against Ripple Labs after more than four years.

Grewal has also launched a request under the Freedom of Information Act to find out how many enforcement actions were brought against crypto firms under Gensler’s tenure between April 17, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025, and the cost to the taxpayer.

Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle

World

Russia sticks to red lines on 30-day Ukraine ceasefire plan – as Zelenskyy attacks ‘manipulative’ Putin

Published

6 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Russia sticks to red lines on 30-day Ukraine ceasefire plan - as Zelenskyy attacks 'manipulative' Putin

Vladimir Putin has said Russia agrees to an end to fighting in Ukraine, but “lots of questions” remain over proposals for a 30-day ceasefire.

Casting doubt over whether a deal can be agreed, the Russian president said a ceasefire must lead to “long-term peace” which “would remove the initial reasons for the crisis”.

Russia has previously said it would not accept Ukraine joining NATO and European peacekeepers in Ukraine.

Moscow has reportedly also presented a “list of demands” to the US to end the war, which would include international recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr Putin’s remarks were “very predictable” and “very manipulative”, adding that the Russian president was preparing to reject the ceasefire proposal he agreed with the US.

Mr Putin’s comments came as Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow ahead of talks over Ukraine with the Russian president.

Ukraine war latest updates

Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Mr Putin described the situation in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have pushed into Moscow’s territory, as “completely under our control”.

It appeared the US had persuaded Ukraine to accept the ceasefire, he said, but Ukraine is also interested because of the battlefield situation, with its forces in Kursk fully blocked in the coming days.

“In these conditions, I believe it would be good for the Ukrainian side to secure a ceasefire for at least 30 days,” he said.

He also said there would need to be a mechanism to control possible breaches of the truce.

Another issue he raised was whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to continue to mobilise and rearm.

He said he would need to speak to Mr Trump over the terms of any ceasefire.

Moscow’s maximalist position hasn’t changed

Vladimir Putin was never going to flat out reject the US proposal for a ceasefire, but he also wasn’t going to fully endorse it either. Russia’s agreement, as expected, comes with several strings attached.

The Kremlin leader didn’t specify Moscow’s demands but he did allude to them by saying that any peace deal had to eliminate the “root causes” of the conflict.

It’s become a frequent refrain of his, and shows that Moscow’s maximalist position hasn’t changed.

By “root causes”, the Russian president is referring to NATO’s eastward expansion, which he blames as the catalyst for the war in Ukraine.

It’s a very clear indication his agreement to a ceasefire relies on getting some kind of security guarantees of his own, for example a promise Ukraine will never join NATO, or that there’ll never be any European peacekeeping forces from NATO members based in the country in the future.

He also articulated why Moscow is reluctant to agree to an immediate truce, talking at length about his forces’ advances in Kursk region. Ukraine’s incursion there has been humiliating for the Kremlin, but their expulsion is finally within reach.

Mr Putin doesn’t want that opportunity to slip away. By pausing Russia’s offensive, he fears they’ll lose the advantage and give the enemy time to regroup.

Mr Putin was, however, careful to thank Donald Trump for his efforts in trying to reach a peace agreement, perhaps wary of any backlash from the White House. But despite that, he still doesn’t appear to be showing any sign of compromise.

Mr Putin was speaking alongside Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko and the pair said in a joint statement that NATO’s actions regarding the war in Ukraine were fraught with the risk of nuclear conflict.

The two countries also criticised the European Union’s policy towards Russia, labelling it aggressive and confrontational.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 has left thousands of people dead and injured, millions displaced and towns and cities reduced to rubble.

Moscow’s forces have been advancing since the middle of last year and now control nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.

In his speech Mr Putin said Russian forces were pushing forwards along the entire frontline.

Responding to the comments, Mr Zelenskyy said: “Putin, of course, is afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war, he wants to kill Ukrainians.”

He said Mr Putin’s words were “just another Russian manipulation”.

Mr Trump also responded to the remarks, saying Mr Putin’s statement was not complete and reiterated his willingness to talk to the Russian president, adding: “Hopefully Russia will do the right thing.”

In a news conference with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, the US president shifted his tone on the alliance, saying it was “stepping up” and praising Mr Rutte for doing “some really good work”.

Mr Rutte said NATO members needed to produce more weapons, stating the alliance was not doing enough and was lagging behind Russia and China.