‘Unless you are storming the Capitol’: Donald Trump controversially cracks down on ‘illegal protests’ at colleges

President Donald Trump threatens to crack down on what he calls "illegal protests" on college campuses in America.

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Donald Trump recently shared his controversial plans to crack down on protests at colleges, including defunding the universities where these protests are occurring, expelling American students, and deporting international students.

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While he claims to be cracking down on “illegal” protests, it is uncertain what he considers illegal, especially since he defended January 6 rioters storming the Capitol and attacking police officers in the name of “protest.” Most likely, he is referring to the pro-Palestinian protests that have broken out on college campuses across the country. Trump’s threat against college protests came as his administration announced it was reviewing Columbia University’s funding after it allegedly failed to act against antisemitism on its campus. Columbia has housed some of the most prominent pro-Palestinian protests in the nation. Last year, protestors even took over a building on campus, forcing Columbia to suspend students involved in the incident.

Protests can sometimes become illegal if they involve unlawful encampment or devolve into harassment. These instances have occurred in colleges and should absolutely result in disciplinary actions and potential police involvement if things escalate. However, protests aren’t “illegal” just because someone disagrees with them. Unfortunately, it’s unclear if the Trump administration knows how to differentiate between legal and illegal demonstrations.

Recently, Trump took to Truth Social to issue a dark threat against campus protests. He wrote, “All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows for illegal protests.” However, he continued to list potential punishments for protests that sound downright authoritarian. He claimed that “agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.” He also threatened to expel and arrest American students. He concluded his threat by writing, “NO MASKS!”

(@realDonaldTrump/TruthSocial

The most concerning part of the threat is that he doesn’t specify what “illegal protests” are. As long as they are conducted peacefully, there is no such thing as an “illegal” protest. Meanwhile, MAGAs tend to label anything they dislike as “illegal,” whether it’s DEI or children’s books, raising fears that these threats apply to any pro-Palestinian protests regardless of whether any illegal activity actually occurs. One also can’t ignore the blatant hypocrisy of his statement. Just weeks ago, Trump freed thousands of January 6 rioters, including those convicted of violent crimes, after they staged an illegal insurrection. Many wore masks in the attack. Yet, he pardoned them because they were “patriots” supposedly engaging in peaceful protests.

So, protests on college campuses are considered illegal, but protests that involve breaching the Capitol building are perfectly legal, according to Trump. User @LfcBecky interpreted Trump’s threat as, “No protests, no masks unless you are storming the Capitol Building …”

(@LfcBecky/X)

Trump had previously threatened to deport pro-Palestinian students in 2024. He promised to kick them out of the country simply for being pro-Palestinian, not for doing anything “illegal.” It’s possible he’s just adding the word “illegal” arbitrarily in his latest threat while planning on going after protests, period. Of course, he won’t be able to do so without public outcry and legal retaliation since, despite his bold threats, protests are protected under the First Amendment. His words alone don’t suddenly render protests he doesn’t like “illegal.”

The addendum about “no masks” also raised concerns. Trump doesn’t specify what he means by this. Does he mean protestors aren’t allowed to wear masks, or is he trying to ban masks, including those worn for medical reasons, from campuses altogether? He should remember that college campus protestors aren’t the only ones who wear masks. The agitators most often wearing masks are right-wing extremists, such as Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other white supremacist groups. Is Trump going to target these people or just college students exercising their freedom of speech?

Some student protests have indeed crossed a line into antisemitism and harassment. However, in these cases, there have been disciplinary actions, expulsions, and police involvement when necessary. These universities have to walk a fine line between protecting students’ freedom of speech and refusing to allow these demonstrations to devolve into chaos and hate. The solution is certainly not to let the federal government interfere with threats of defunding, imprisonment, and expulsion based on how it narrowly defines “illegal protests.”

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