Activist Sues Pro-Israel Groups Under Ku Klux Klan Act

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil filed a civil rights lawsuit on Tuesday, accusing the federal government and several private organizations of orchestrating a conspiracy to suppress criticism of Israel. The suit alleges a coordinated campaign to "dox, jail and ultimately deport" student activists who support the Palestinian cause. The Heritage Foundation is named as the alleged architect of this conspiracy, aiming to silence pro-Palestinian voices by labeling them as antisemitic. The lawsuit also identifies Canary Mission and Betar, two pro-Israel groups that maintain online lists of Israel's critics, as facilitators of this alleged suppression. According to the suit, activists placed on these lists were "nearly automatically targeted by the Federal Defendants for arrest and removal," describing the process as "frictionless."

Khalil's legal team contends that this alleged "public-private partnership" may violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era law designed to prevent government collaboration with vigilante groups. The Center for Constitutional Rights is leading the suit, which seeks unspecified damages and a court order to halt the purported conspiracy. Inquiries made to the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, and Betar regarding the lawsuit did not receive immediate responses. A White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, declined to comment on the specific lawsuit but affirmed the executive branch's "lawful authority to take actions that will protect the public and to ensure the integrity of our immigration system."

The lawsuit emerges as Khalil's own deportation case is reportedly progressing towards the U.S. Supreme Court. At a press conference on Tuesday, Khalil stated the lawsuit's objective is to "expose the network of organizations, particular actors and institutions that work together to criminalize solidarity with Palestine and to make an example of those who refuse to stay silent."