Lester Wilson and Mario Torres were janitors at Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall when the anti-Israel protests began in late 2023. What they experienced is now part of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation into the university’s shocking acceptance of routine antisemitic incidents that normalized hate.
The complaint by the two janitors alleges that the university retaliated against them for constantly reporting the antisemitic graffiti and other incidents that made them feel unsafe at work. From late 2023 until the takeover of Hamilton Hall last April, during which the two janitors were assaulted and injured, the university did nothing to address the problem.
Wilson and Torres were tasked with removing the obscene graffiti, including numerous swastikas, that were drawn on the walls and floors of the building. A security guard taking pictures of the graffiti said that the authorities declined to follow up “because the graffiti was ‘free speech'” and “was not ‘vandalism’ because it was written in chalk and could be erased.”
“True to the security officer’s words, Columbia did nothing in response to the incident,” the complaint continues. “It did not increase security inside the building. Nor, to Mr. Torres’ knowledge, did Columbia investigate who was responsible for the invasion of Hamilton Hall.”
Both men were working the night of April 29, 2024, when Hamilton Hall was taken over by Pro-Hamas activists.
Torres and Wilson were working their usual overnight shifts when the takeover occurred. Rioters attempted to bribe Torres to leave the scene, according to his complaint and repeatedly called him “Jew-lover” when he refused to take the money. Wilson’s complaint makes similar claims.
“Mr. Wilson stood in the lobby and begged the rioters to let him out of the building. He recalls saying, ‘I work here. Let me out,'” the complaint states. “The rioters responded by laughing at him and mocking him. He remembers being told, ‘You work for the Jews’ and ‘You’re a Zionist.'”
Torres also clashed that night with James Carlson, a professional activist and animal rights attorney who organized the Hamilton Hall takeover. Though Torres’s complaint does not name Carlson, it appears to detail the clash, at one point mentioning a “masked man in a Columbia sweatshirt who began violently shoving” Torres.
Wilson, who is black, was found removing the swastikas that kept popping up inside Hamilton Hall because authorities refused to do anything about it.
“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,” Torres’ complaint alleged.
“However, Mr. Torres was reprimanded by his supervisor for doing so.”
Related: The Media’s Shameful Support for Mahmoud Khalil Ignores His Pro-Hamas Advocacy
Columbia’s then-president, Minouche Shafiq, looked like a deer caught in headlights when she testified before Congress shortly after the Hamilton Hall takeover ended. “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,’” both men’s complaints recalled of the Hamilton Hall takeover in April last year.
“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,” the complaints added.
Finally, after the janitors had been roughed up and terrified by the protesters, the police were called in and ejected the thugs. But the two janitors had to fight their way out of Hamilton Hall with their bare hands.
During that confrontation, Torres was repeatedly struck on his back by other rioters. After repeatedly navigating to blocked-off exits, he eventually found a way out that had been blocked by zip ties and a bike lock. Following his pleas, one of the rioters cut the zip ties and let him out.
Wilson had been separated from Torres during the havoc and had quickly tried to escape after determining the rioters were taking over. During his scramble to get out, rioters smashed furniture into him and pushed him repeatedly, per the complaint.
“He recalls saying, ‘I work here. Let me out,’” the complained 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 antisemitism has gotten so bad at Columbia that state authorities should seriously consider taking over the administration of the school.
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