Harvard Moves to Dismiss DOJ Antisemitism Suit, Calling Claims Outdated

The filing sets up a test of how far Title VI lets the government use federal funding to police campus discrimination.

Overview

Harvard, which filed its 49-page motion Monday, says the DOJ’s case fails to allege any ongoing violation of Title VI, the civil-rights law that governs programs receiving federal funds.
The university argues the complaint leans on 2023 and 2024 incidents and overlooks reforms including new protest rules, antisemitism training, a faster discipline process, and the January 2025 adoption of the IHRA definition.
The DOJ’s March lawsuit alleges Harvard was deliberately indifferent to antisemitic and anti‑Israeli harassment and seeks an outside monitor, a halt to future grants, and restitution of nearly $1 billion.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns is handling the case after rejecting a transfer bid, and he has previously allowed similar deliberate-indifference claims against Harvard to proceed.
Harvard cites a 2025 ruling by Judge Allison D. Burroughs that struck down an earlier funding freeze, and the case now awaits Stearns’s decision and any public response from the DOJ.