{"id":780,"date":"2026-05-27T22:09:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=780"},"modified":"2026-05-27T22:09:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:09:35","slug":"virginia-foxx-says-shes-immune-from-students-lawsuit-over-antisemitism-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=780","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Foxx says she\u2019s immune from student\u2019s lawsuit over antisemitism probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2024, Columbia University suspended pro-Palestinian student activist Khymani James after they made inflammatory and threatening statements regarding Israel, including: \u201cZionists don\u2019t deserve to live\u201d and \u201cBe grateful that I\u2019m not just going out and murdering Zionists.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Then, James sued U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina<\/a>, contending that her congressional committee\u2019s investigation into antisemitism on American campuses resulted in that disciplinary action.<\/p>\n

James contends in the lawsuit, filed on Feb. 5 in the Southern District of New York, that Foxx violated their First Amendment rights and deliberately intimidated Columbia to comply with her wishes to have James expelled. In September 2025, Foxx posted<\/a> that because Columbia didn\u2019t formally expel James, the school \u201cfailed again, again, and again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Foxx says this \u201cthreadbare\u201d and \u201cmeritless\u201d case against her should be thrown out. James, in turn, has filed a brief in opposition to that motion. It\u2019s up to Judge Paul Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York to decide which to honor.<\/p>\n

As a student at Columbia, James made numerous threatening remarks about Zionists and wide-ranging comments about Israel, including that it is a racist state led by war criminals. This was a time at the school marked by intense pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments tied to the war between Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n

After their suspension, James was denied readmission to Columbia in 2025. James previously sued Columbia over his suspension.<\/p>\n

Foxx, a Republican from Banner Elk, was chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce when it subpoenaed Columbia in 2024 for documents relating to its antisemitism investigation. The result of that investigation \u2014 a report titled \u201cAntisemitism on College Campuses Exposed<\/a>\u201d \u2014 mentions James by name.<\/p>\n

Foxx contends the case should be thrown out without a trial. Members of Congress have absolute immunity for investigative work under the Constitution\u2019s Speech or Debate Clause<\/a>, she argues. As for the September 2025 post, Foxx says it merely reported that Columbia told her it would expel James \u2014 she didn\u2019t demand Columbia do anything, she contends.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than take accountability, Plaintiff points the finger at others. … Because Plaintiff\u2019s predicament is a result of Plaintiff\u2019s own actions, and the suit is barred by two separate immunity doctrines (Speech or Debate Clause and Sovereign Immunity), Plaintiff faces insurmountable jurisdictional obstacles,\u201d the motion, filed April 27, reads.<\/p>\n

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The motion frames the lawsuit in the context of Israel\u2019s war in Gaza, and Foxx\u2019s analysis of the impact of that war in America.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel, a wave of antisemitism swept over our nation\u2019s college campuses, leading to discrimination against Jewish students at institutions of higher education receiving billions of dollars in federal funds,\u201d it reads. \u201cPlaintiff Khymani James was suspended by Columbia University for one year in August 2024 for partaking in this troubling trend and doing so in a threatening manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to Foxx\u2019s motion to dismiss, James filed an opposition brief on May 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case, despite the clouds of smoke emitted by Defendant\u2019s counsel, presents the following relatively simple questions for this Court: Does a sitting Congressperson have the right, without accountability, to use the authority of her position, to demand that a university expel an individual student she does not like?,\u201d it reads. \u201cCan she then validly claim the protection of the Speech and Debate Clause, or of sovereign immunity, on the grounds that secretly trying to end the education and career of a beleaguered twenty-two year old African American kid, is in pursuit of a valid legislative purpose?<\/p>\n

The opposition brief frames the response to pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses as one of \u201ceight great free speech crises in American history\u201d and says \u201cKhymani is the iconic First Amendment client. Why do we even have a First Amendment, if not for Khymani?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Foxx\u2019s attacks on Khymani James are astonishing and unprofessional,\u201d the brief says. \u201c… It seems likely that Rep. Foxx is trying to assert the infamous \u2018They had it coming\u2019 defense, in other words, I may have broken every law to get at Khymani James, but they richly deserved it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Foxx has until June 1 to file a reply letter to James\u2019 latest brief.<\/p>\n

Neither James nor Foxx responded to a request for comment on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 2:15 PM<\/span> with the headline “Virginia Foxx says she\u2019s immune from student\u2019s lawsuit over antisemitism probe.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Myers Park High football coach Chris James is leaving. What we know<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina asks judge to dismiss Khymani James\u2019s suit after Columbia suspended the student amid pro-Palestinian protests and an antisemitism probe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nVirginia Foxx says she\u2019s immune from student\u2019s lawsuit over antisemitism probe - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=780\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia Foxx says she\u2019s immune from student\u2019s lawsuit over antisemitism probe - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rep. 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