Two janitors at an elite US university allege that they were forced to clean swastikas spray-painted on the campus of Columbia University and are facing retaliatory harassment from the school over their reporting of antisemitic conduct, according to the New York Post.
A federal investigation has been launched over the accusations made by Lester Wilson and Mario Torres, who also claim they were attacked and accused of being “Jew-lovers” by an anti-Israel “mob” that occupied the university’s Hamilton Hall last year.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency tasked with enforcing civil rights in the workplace, has opened a probe into the claims, which are being made under Title IVV of the Civil Rights Act.
Wilson and Torres, who have worked at the school for more than five years, say they were both left injured and traumatised from the anti-Israel violence that unfolded across the Ivy League school last year, and were unable to return to work as a result, according to the Post.
Pro-Palestinian student protesters lock arms at the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, April 30, 2024 (Credit: JIA WU/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
The men claim the campus had for months become an unsafe and hostile environment, in violation of federal discrimination laws. Racist and antisemitic graffiti began to pop up around the campus in November 2023, one month after the Hamas attack on Israel, which the janitors were forced to clean.
“Mr Wilson recognised the swastikas as symbols of white supremacy,” Wilson’s complaint alleges. “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,” it said.
Demonstrators from the pro-Palestine encampment on Columbia's Campus barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, April 30, 2024 (Credit: Alex Kent/Getty Images)Getty Images
The janitors “lost count” of the number of swastikas they had to remove, with Torres, who is Latino, estimating it in the dozens. So numerous were the swastikas, and Columbia’s apparent inaction so frustrating, that Torres began throwing away classroom chalk so vandals would not be able to use them to draw more. For doing that, Torres was “reprimanded by his supervisor,” his complaint said.
In December, the two men watched as masked protesters marched through Hamilton Hall chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and scrawled swastikas and other obscene graffiti in the building.
After Wilson reported that incident, he was told by campus security the vandals were “exercising their First Amendment rights” and “nothing could be done”, the complaint said, as reported by the Post.
In another instance, Wilson complaint said he saw and heard members of an encampment that took over the hall yell “Jew-lover” and “Zionist” at colleagues of his who were trying to tidy up the mess.
In April 2024, when Torres and Wilson had been working in Hamilton Hall, a group of masked demonstrators entered the building with intent to occupy it. Torres’ complaint stated that the mob attempted to “obstruct Mr Torres’ path at every turn”, and he had “no idea that all the while rioters had been zip-tying shut the exits on the ground floor of Hamilton Hall.”
A demonstrator breaks the windows of the front door of the building in order to secure a chain around it to prevent authorities from entering Hamilton Hall, April 30, 2024 (Credit: Alex Kent/Getty Images)Getty Images
After barricading the exists, Torres said he decided to battle his way through the mob. “I’m going to get twenty guys up here to f*** you up,” one masked rioter threatened Torres. During that confrontation, Torres was repeatedly hit on the back. Eventually, following his pleas, one of the masked men cut a zip tie to let him out.
Wilson, meanwhile, was subject to being pushed repeatedly and furniture being smashed into him. The complaint alleges: “He calls saying, ‘I work here. Let me out.’ The rioters responded by laughing at him and mocking him. He remembers being told, ‘you work for the Jews’ and ‘you’re a Zionist.’”
Demonstrators lock arms to stop authorities reaching fellow protestors who barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall, April 30, 2024 (Credit: Alex Kent/Getty Images)Getty Images
Eventually, the New York City Police Department cleared the building and arrested over 100 people participating in the occupation. Days earlier, the university had moved most of its classes to remote learning due to the unrest unfolding on campus.
The news of the launch of the federal investigation comes after the Trump administration cut over $400 million worth of funding to the school over its handling of antisemitism on campus.
The school is also facing a probe from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.
US Attorney General Bill Bar, whose firm is representing the two men, told the Post they welcome the EEOC’s decision to open an investigation into Wilson and Torres’ charges of discrimination.
“Columbia has a legal and moral obligation to protect the civil rights of its students and employees. It must be held accountable when it fails to do so,” Barr said in a statement.
According to the Post, Columbia declined to comment on the ongoing investigation when asked by the paper.
