OAN Staff Taylor Tinsley
3:53 PM – Friday, June 20, 2025

A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil to be released on bail.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz granted Khalil’s’ request for release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention while his case proceeds.

Farbiarz stated that the government made no attempt to prove that Khalil’s release would irreparably harm them in some way, and that Khalil represented a flight risk.

“What all that evidence adds up to is a lack of violence, a lack of property destruction, a lack of anything that might be characterized as incitement to violence,” the judge said of Khalil.

The ruling comes more than three months after the pro-Palestine protester was first detained by immigration officials.

30-year-old Khalil, who played a leading role in anti-Israel protests on Columbia’s campus last year, is a green card holder. His wife and son are U.S. citizens.

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