Columbia janitors file complaint against university after being trapped by pro-Hamas ‘mob’

According to The New York Post, Lester Wilson and Mario Torres allege they had been forced to scrub off swastikas on campus, and were also attacked and briefly trapped by the antisemitic "mob" during the takeover of Hamilton Hall last spring. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency tasked with enforcing civil rights laws in the workplace, is investigating the allegations.

The two janitors are represented by former US Attorney General Bill Barr and his firm Torridon, and are filing claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, alleging that they were retaliated against for “reporting antisemitic and racist conduct.” According to documents obtained by the outlet, Wilson and Torres were both injured and traumatized by the “mob” that took over the university and haven’t been able to return to work.

The complaint read, “Hours after President [Minouche] Shafik issued her statement [that the university had become ‘unsafe for everyone‘], an antisemitic mob assaulted two janitors inside Columbia’s historic Hamilton Hall, calling them ‘Jew-lovers,'” referring to the occupation of Hamilton Hall last April. Columbia had indeed become unsafe for everyone, including the two janitors who were trapped inside Hamilton Hall. And for these two men, Columbia had for months been a hostile environment in violation of Title VII.”

In November 2023, following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, racist and antisemitic graffiti began to appear on campus. According to the complaint, “Mr. Wilson recognized the swastikas as symbols of white supremacy. As an African-American man, he found the images deeply distressing. He reported them to his supervisors, who instructed him to erase the graffiti. No matter how many times Mr. Wilson removed the swastikas, individuals kept replacing them with more.”

Wilson reportedly lost count of how many swastikas he had to clean. Torres, who is Latino, said it was dozens, adding, “They were so offensive, and Columbia’s inaction was so frustrating, that he eventually began throwing away chalk that had been left in the classrooms so vandals would not have anything to write with. However, Mr. Torres was reprimanded by his supervisor for doing so.”

The janitors noted that Columbia requires an electronic ID to access Hamilton Hall and that the building is equipped with security feeds, so it should have been easy for authorities to find the perpetrators. However, the continued amount of antisemitic, explicit, and racist graffiti at Hamilton Hall and around campus led the men to conclude there was “no reason to believe” Columbia “investigated any of the incidents.”

In December 2023, after Torres and Wilson saw masked activists marching through Hamilton Hall chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and drawing swastikas and other graffiti in the building, Wilson said he was told by campus security that “the trespassers and vandals were exercising their First Amendment rights” and that “nothing could be done.”

After the radicals created an encampment on campus last spring, Wilson claimed his union told him last year that the university would offer overtime to custodians who agreed to clean up after the campers. He agreed, but according to the complaint, “He spotted a colleague inside the encampment cleaning the mess within it. He saw and heard members of the encampment shouting ‘Jew-lover’ and ‘Zionist’ at the colleague while he worked to clean up their mess.”

He opted to return to his normal shift because he didn’t feel safe at the encampment, a sentiment Torres shared.

On April 29, 2024, Torres and Wilson were working in Hamilton Hall when masked agitators stormed and occupied the building. According to the complaint, “Masked intruders obstructed Mr. Torres’ path at every turn. Mr. Torres had no idea that all the while rioters had been zip-tying shut the exits on the ground floor of Hamilton Hall.”

Additionally, “Mr. Torres observed that what had initially seemed like chaos was actually highly coordinated. An unmasked woman and a masked man barked orders at the rioters, directing them to different areas of Hamilton Hall.”

Radicals had also barricaded the doors with vending machines. To escape, Torres tried to fight his way out, but one masked rioter told him, “’I’m going to get twenty guys up here to f*ck you up'” and “violently” shoved him. According to the complaint, “Mr. Torres pulled a fire extinguisher, which was within arm’s reach, off the wall to defend himself and replied, ‘I’ll be right here.’”

Torres was repeatedly hit in the back by other rioters but eventually managed to find a rioter to cut the zip ties and let him out. Wilson had been separated from Torres and during his attempt to escape, was hit with furniture and pushed by the radicals. The complaint alleged, “The rioters responded by laughing at him and mocking him. He remembers being told, ‘You work for the Jews,’ and ‘You’re a Zionist.’ Eventually, someone opened a door and Mr. Wilson was physically pushed out of the building.”

The New York City Police Department was eventually called in to clear out the building, and over 100 people were arrested. Columbia University had to shift to remote learning due to the chaos.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration cut over $400 million in federal funding from Columbia for not addressing rampant antisemitism on campus. Last week, it lost an additional $30 million in funding. Columbia is also under investigation by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), alongside over 50 other universities and colleges. The State Department and Department of Homeland Security are looking into rioters who may be in the country on student visas and participated in the riots. Last week, the Trump administration worked to deport Mahmoud Khalil, one of the leaders of the violence at Columbia, who was in the US on a green card.