The Trump administration is demanding a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a White House official confirmed Friday, marking a major escalation in its crackdown on alleged civil rights violations at US universities. 

According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the administration has already suspended $584 million in federal grants to UCLA. The Department of Justice has accused the public university of "antisemitism" in recent weeks, making it the first public institution targeted under this campaign. Previous federal funding freezes have been imposed on private colleges over similar allegations of "antisemitism" and affirmative action policies.

UC President James B. Milliken confirmed Friday that the university had received a formal notice from the Department of Justice and was reviewing it. 

“Earlier this week, we offered to engage in good-faith dialogue with the Department to protect the University and its critical research mission,” Milliken said. “As a public university, we are stewards of taxpayer resources, and a payment of this scale would devastate the country’s greatest public university system and inflict great harm on our students and all Californians.” 

The dispute comes just months after UCLA agreed to a $6 million settlement with three Jewish students and a Jewish professor. The group alleged the university violated their civil rights by allowing pro-Palestine protesters in 2024 to block access to classes and campus facilities. 

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UCLA has maintained it is committed to campus safety and inclusivity, pledging to implement recommendations aimed at ensuring equal access for all students. 

UCLA protesters sue over police violence

A May lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court accuses law enforcement of police brutality during a violent crackdown on pro-Palestine protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in spring 2024.

At the height of nationwide demonstrations against “Israel’s” war on Gaza, the UCLA encampment became a central site of student-led protest. On April 30, a pro-“Israel” mob attacked the encampment for more than four hours. Protesters say that police stood by as counter-demonstrators launched fireworks, sprayed chemical agents, and engaged in harassment and sexual assault, according to The Intercept.

The following day, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, UCLA officials, and multiple law enforcement agencies coordinated plans to dismantle the encampment. On May 1, the encampment was forcibly cleared with a statement from the UCLA Police Department regarding the April 30, 2025, campus activity posted on X. 

Trauma, criminalization, fear of future protest

The lawsuit includes plaintiffs such as a UCLA Ph.D. candidate, an undergraduate student, another student from a different university, and an architectural designer. All were struck with rubber bullets, several in the head. Beyond physical injuries, the plaintiffs say the crackdown has severely impacted their willingness to participate in future demonstrations.

“The encampment clearance by means of violence, excessive force, and kinetic energy projectiles traumatized Plaintiffs,” the complaint read. “It justifiably made them less willing to engage in any further Palestine-related protest activity.”

One plaintiff, Abdullah Puckett, now fears future retaliation if he returns to protest. The complaint states that he is “more hesitant and afraid” and has had to reevaluate the extent of his participation in pro-Palestine demonstrations.