U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford said Wednesday that Mahdawi's detention for two weeks, "so far demonstrates great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime." Talking to supporters outside the Vermont federal courthouse, Mahdawi said his release sends a message that, "we, the people, will hold the Constitution accountable for the principles and values that we believe in." Mahdawi's release comes with some conditions: He must stay in his home state of Vermont, though he is allowed to travel to New York City for his schooling and to meetings with his attorneys.

Columbia University student and Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during what was supposed to be a naturalization interview, was released from his detention Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ruled the green-card holder, who had been held in the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vt., should be set free after weeks of detention, denying the federal government’s request for a seven-day stay on that release. In his ruling, Crawford said it is in the public interest for Mahdawi to be released, citing First Amendment concerns.

A federal judge ordered the release of an anti-Israel protester who helped organize riots and protests at the University of Columbia on Wednesday. Authorities with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder, earlier this month in Vermont. U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered his release following a hearing Wednesday morning. "I'm not afraid of you," Mahdawi declared in a message to President Donald Trump as he left the courthouse. According to the court filing, Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia in the fall of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack. He founded the group with Mahmoud Khalil, another pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by federal immigration officials under the Trump administration earlier this year.