NC lawmaker investigated reports of campus antisemitism. Now she’s being sued.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- James sues Rep. Foxx, alleging she abused power to obtain his de facto expulsion.
- Foxx’s 2024 subpoena and report mentioned James.
- Lawsuit claims Foxx violated James' First Amendment rights.
In 2024, Columbia University suspended pro-Palestinian student activist Khymani James after they said “Zionists don’t deserve to live” on social media and in a disciplinary hearing.
Now, James is suing U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, accusing her of abusing her position of power to obtain what the student describes as their de facto expulsion from the university.
James contends in the lawsuit, filed on Feb. 5 in the Southern District of New York, that Foxx violated their First Amendment rights through “jawboning, a strategy which allows government officials to impact the speech of individuals like James.”
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. James in mentioned by name in the footnotes of the report the committee released, titled, “Antisemitism on College Campuses Exposed.”
James made wide-ranging claims about Israel during their time at Columbia, including that it is a racist state led by war criminals and bears similarity to Nazi Germany. This was a time at the school marked by intense pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments tied to the war between Israel and Hamas.
“In carrying out its purported investigation, the Committee, chaired by Foxx, deliberately and officially conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism,” the complaint reads. “It did so in its official adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance standards, which violate the First Amendment by their inclusion of quite ordinary and mainstream speech critical of Israel. The Committee also made its obliviousness to First Amendment protections obvious in its official communications to Columbia.”
James was suspended in 2024. Because they were not fully expelled, Foxx posted: “When I was Chair of the @EdWorkforceCmte, the leadership at @Columbia made a direct statement to me that Khymani James would be expelled for his antisemitic rhetoric — my committee staff at the time were present as well when the statement was made. He was not expelled. Nothing was done. @Columbia, you have failed again, again, and again.”
Columbia responded to her post: “Encouraging violence against others is unacceptable and has no place in our community discourse. The individual in question has been barred from Columbia’s campus since April 2024 and is not a registered student.”
The lawsuit argues that Foxx and her committee deliberately intimidated Columbia to comply with her wishes to have James expelled. It seeks action to reverse what James says is the violation of their First Amendment rights. The suit also contends that Foxx interfered in James’ contract with Columbia and seeks monetary damages for that reason.
James previously sued Columbia University over his suspension, the Columbia Spectator reported.
After their suspension, James was denied readmission to Columbia. James will be permitted to apply again in April 2026, but “fully expects that Columbia, in fear of Foxx and the Committee, will deny permission again,” according to the lawsuit.
Foxx took to X again Thursday to defend herself against James’ claims.
“This lawsuit’s lack of credibility and factual basis speaks for itself,” Foxx posted. “I stand behind the Committee’s antisemitism investigation and won’t be deterred from my fight to protect Jewish students from discrimination on campuses across the nation.”
James replied: “This geriatric lacks all common sense and needs to ___ (sic). But NOT before we go to court. You was sitting in closed door meetings pushing for students to get EXPELLED while your constituents were STARVING. Priorities all the way (expletive) up!”
Asked if she had further comment, Foxx’s office referred The News & Observer to her social media post. James is travelling in Europe and could not immediately provide comment.
In July, Columbia paid the federal government $221 million to settle multiple federal investigations into discrimination at the university.
