{"id":2629663,"date":"2026-07-14T14:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/khalil-sues-trump-administration-and-heritage-foundation-over-conspiracy\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:48:28","slug":"khalil-sues-trump-administration-and-heritage-foundation-over-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/khalil-sues-trump-administration-and-heritage-foundation-over-conspiracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Khalil sues Trump administration and Heritage Foundation over &#8216;conspiracy&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkhalil-sues-trump-administration-and-heritage-foundation-over-conspiracy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2629663&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Pro-Palestinian protester and columbia University graduate Mahmoud khalil is suing multiple entities, including the Trump administration, the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, and Betar, accusing them of conspiring to target and deport pro-Palestinian students. Khalil, married to a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE in March 2025 but was released by a federal judge, though his case remains ongoing. He alleges that the government and right-wing groups are working together to punish Palestinians and supporters by using a conspiracy outlined in the &#8220;Project Esther Blueprint,&#8221; which aims to leverage federal power once a favorable administration is in office to punish Palestinians protesting in Gaza. Khalil&#8217;s lawsuit, filed in new York, accuses these parties of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act by collaborating to deprive non-citizen Palestinians of their rights and compares this effort to post-civil War Southern justice. He specifically criticizes his 104-day detention that led to missing his child&#8217;s birth and vows to continue fighting for accountability,framing the case as part of a broader effort to silence dissent and persecute those supporting Palestinian rights.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pro-Palestinian protester and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/columbia-university\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3592\">Columbia University<\/a> graduate Mahmoud Khalil is suing multiple parties, including the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a> and the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/heritage-foundation\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"759\">Heritage Foundation<\/a>, for waging a \u201cconspiracy\u201d against him since last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Khalil, a legal permanent resident married to a U.S. citizen, was detained by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ice\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ice\/\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> in March 2025 before a federal judge ordered his release. He has not been deported, though there is a chance he still could be removed from the country as the case remains ongoing despite his release from detention.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4647766\/trump-e-jean-carroll-defamation-settlement-wired-judge-order\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump\u2019s $5.6 million payout electronically wired to E. Jean Carroll after judge\u2019s order<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4647591\/appeals-court-hands-trump-win-2020-postal-service-mail-changes\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Appeals court hands Trump win in fight over 2020 USPS mail changes<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4647352\/trump-end-freeze-childcare-subsidies-fraud-democrat-states\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump administration ends freeze on $10 billion in childcare subsidies<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The activist is now taking legal action into his own hands, accusing the federal government and right-wing groups of conspiring together to target pro-Palestinian students such as himself.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"61\">New York<\/a> on Tuesday, takes aim at several members of the Trump administration, the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, and Betar. The latter two groups dox individuals and organizations deemed antisemitic or anti-Israel. The administration then uses that information to find pro-Palestinian student protesters it wants to deport, according to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/ccrjustice.org\/sites\/default\/files\/attach\/2026\/07\/1_7-14-26_Complaint_w.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/ccrjustice.org\/sites\/default\/files\/attach\/2026\/07\/1_7-14-26_Complaint_w.pdf\">131-page suit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The defendants, per the court filing, are accused of \u201cjointly carrying out a conspiracy to single out Mr. Khalil and other non-citizen Palestinians and their supporters for arrest, detention, and deportation, as punishment for their support of Palestinian rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sole plaintiff alleges the public and private parties violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, a federal law created in 1871 to combat the white supremacist group during the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War. Khalil\u2019s lawyers, citing the law, argue government officials are prohibited from collaborating with private individuals in ways that deprive citizens of their constitutional rights.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The attorneys behind the massive lawsuit compared the government\u2019s weaponization of the legal system to \u201cpost-bellum Southern justice\u201d during the Jim Crow era.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The suit pinned the Heritage Foundation as the mastermind behind the \u201cProject Esther Blueprint,\u201d which laid out the \u201cconspiratorial plan\u201d to \u201cpunish Palestinians and their supporters\u201d for protesting <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"219\">Israel<\/a> amid the war in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gaza\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"217\">Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAccording to the Blueprint, the success of the conspiracy would depend on a \u2018public-private partnership\u2019 once a \u2018willing Administration occupies the White House\u2019 to leverage federal power to impose serious punishment on the Palestinians and their supporters whom the Private Defendants sought to target,\u201d the civil rights lawsuit states.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The federal defendants are White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/stephen-miller\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2967\">Stephen Miller<\/a>, Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"51\">Marco Rubio<\/a>, Secretary of Homeland Security <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/markwayne-mullin\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"21441\">Markwayne Mullin<\/a>, Acting Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/todd-blanche\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"20883\">Todd Blanche<\/a>, former Secretary of Homeland Security <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kristi-noem\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3710\">Kristi Noem<\/a>, and top State Department consular official John Armstrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plaintiff is asking the federal court in the Southern District of New York to grant an injunction prohibiting the defendants from continuing to rely on \u201cunconstitutional and pretextual grounds for detention and removal.\u201d An amount of compensatory and punitive damages will be determined at trial if the case moves forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Khalil is particularly taking aim at his upset about his 104-day incarceration, during which he missed the birth of his first child last spring.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4523780\/mahmoud-khalil-appeal-deportation-case\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4523780\/mahmoud-khalil-appeal-deportation-case\/\">MAHMOUD KHALIL LOSES APPEAL TO DISMISS DEPORTATION CASE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI will not stop fighting until everyone who willingly contributed to my missing the birth of my son\u2014and 104 days of my life\u2014answers for it,\u201d Khalil <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mahmoudkhalel\/status\/2077063225682657358\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mahmoudkhalel\/status\/2077063225682657358\">wrote on X<\/a>, vowing to take more actions soon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut this lawsuit is about far more than what was done to me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is about a coordinated, ongoing plot to punish, silence, and intimidate everyone who dares to dissent and speak out for Palestinian liberation. We will hold them accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil sues Trump, Heritage Foundation over alleged conspiracy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2629664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26195616159115.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50410,5045,51639,4585,5894],"class_list":["post-2629663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-controversy-2","tag-government","tag-law-2","tag-lawsuit","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26195616159115.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629663"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2629666,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629663\/revisions\/2629666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2629664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2629663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2629663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}