Mahmoud Khalil sues Trump officials and pro-Israel groups over ‘conspiracy’ to target him

The brief

Mahmoud Khalil filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Trump administration officials and several pro-Israel groups, accusing them of conspiring to target him and others as punishment for their support of Palestinian rights. The former Columbia University graduate student became the face of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestine speech after he was detained last year. A permanent US resident, Khalil is also fighting in court against the government’s effort to deport him. The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of Khalil, alleges that the Trump administration coordinated with Betar and Canary Mission, two pro-Israel online surveillance groups, in selecting “targets of the conspiracy”. “This case is…