Leftists far and wide were up in arms over the weekend after the arrest of a 30-year-old Syrian national who led a protest in support of Hamas terrorists.

The violent demonstration occurred last year on the campus of Columbia University, and Mahmoud Khalil was detained by federal authorities on Saturday.

His green card was revoked and the incident sparked outrage among likeminded leftists who incorrectly asserted that he should be afforded the same First Amendment rights that apply to American citizens.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt set the record straight during a recent Fox News interview, per the Daily Wire:

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday evening on Fox News that the arrest of the Syrian-born leader of a violent pro-Hamas protest is the “first of many to come.”

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Syrian-born 30-year-old Mahmoud Khalil was detained by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Saturday evening following his involvement in a student encampment at Columbia University last year, according to the Associated Press. With his green card revoked, Khalil has been accused of “activities aligned with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”

On “Hannity,” the Fox host asked Leavitt why Khalil would believe he has “a right to stay in the country” if he’s supporting a terrorist organization like Hamas.

“Everything you just said is true, Sean, and, unfortunately, it appears the liberals in the legacy media think that if you are a foreign national, you can behave in any manner that you want,” Leavitt said. “You can protest and push Hamas propaganda. You can side with a foreign terrorist organization that has killed American citizens, that has murdered innocent babies, men, women, and children across the globe. Under this administration, that type of activity, siding with radical Islamic terrorists, will not stand.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also weighed in on the matter with a similar promise:

Meanwhile, protests on behalf of the terror-supporting Syrian have continued nationwide since his arrest:

The president also addressed the topic, as CBS News reported:

The president wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that his administration “will not tolerate” what he said is “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American” activity on college campuses across the country, and claimed the protests are being waged by “paid agitators” rather than students. As a student at Columbia University last spring, Khalil helped lead demonstrations protesting Israel and the war in Gaza.

“We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again,” Mr. Trump wrote. “If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here. We expect every one of America’s Colleges and Universities to comply.”

The president said the Saturday night arrest of Khalil is “the first arrest of many to come.”

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Last year, Khalil and other Columbia students set up an encampment on the school’s main lawn to protest the ongoing war in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, which Israel launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. More than 1,200 people in southern Israel were killed in the massacre and another 251 were taken hostage. Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the fighting since, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Here’s a full clip of Leavitt’s recent Fox News appearance:

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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