Infamous Pro-Hamas Columbia University Agitator Arrested by ICE
Mohsen Mahdawi praised Hamas and his relatives who were members of terror groups while spending over 16 years in academia
On April 14, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi during what was supposed to be his final naturalization interview in Vermont. According to the Washington Free Beacon, Mahdawi's arrest is part of an ongoing effort instituted by the Trump Administration to remove foreign nationals in the U.S. who are linked to terrorist ideologies or support terrorist activity.
Mahdawi, a Palestinian-born green card holder, was a prominent figure in pro-Hamas activism at Columbia. He served as the co-president of the university's Palestinian Student Union and regularly led demonstrations. In a December 2023 interview, he stated that he could "empathize" with Hamas and advocated for understanding their actions by focusing on so-called "root causes" of the conflict.
His apparent justification for the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks—which killed over 1,200 civilians in Israel—was evident both in interviews and social media. Mahdawi’s Instagram account included a tribute to his cousin, Maysara Masharqa, a commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. In the post, he referred to Masharqa as a "fierce resistance fighter" and praised his violent actions.
His online activity and public statements have drawn justified scrutiny. Authorities argue that Mahdawi's open support for terror groups and his glorification of violence have no place in the U.S., particularly from those seeking citizenship.
Adding to the controversy is Mahdawi’s unusually long academic timeline. As the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association highlighted, Mahdawi has spent over 16 years pursuing higher education across institutions such as Birzeit University, Dartmouth, Lehigh, and Columbia—with plans to enroll at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs next. This timeline places him in his mid-30s, prompting some observers to question his underlying motives. Why spend more than a decade and a half at so many universities? Is it merely a strategy to obtain a green card and citizenship—or could there be a more troubling pro-terror, destabilizing agenda, as some have speculated?
The circumstances of his arrest were also notable. The individual who filmed Mahdawi being detained by ICE is American Communist Party executive Christopher Helali, who, according to the Associated Press, is “a friend of Mahdawi who lives near him in Vermont.” The New York-based group Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus wrote on X following Mahdawi’s detainment that Helali’s social media banner features a fighter from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.-designated terrorist group. It also features the assassinated leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Qasem Soleimani.
Helali is a social studies teacher at Vermont’s Hanover High School and a U.S. Army veteran who once served with a Syrian defense group against ISIS. Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus posted that Helali was elected as a high bailiff in Washington County, Vermont in November—a role that could, under rare circumstances, place him in charge of local law enforcement.
Disturbingly, Helali attended Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral in Beirut in February 2025 with infamous terrorist sympathizer Jackson Hinkle. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, “one week earlier, on February 14, Helali was – along with Hinkle – invited to Qatar to meet, and interview, two senior leaders of Hamas.”
In light of the above, it appears that individuals within Mahdawi’s close circle also have ties to terrorist organizations, further deepening the concerns surrounding him.
Scumbags.