Mayor Michelle Wu, only a week after what her obsequious supporters hailed as a virtuoso efficiency earlier than a hostile congressional oversight panel, finds herself immediately below a harsh federal microscope.
Wu is one in every of 4 massive metropolis mayors to be notified by the Justice Division of an impending go to by President Trump’s Federal Activity Power to Fight Antisemitism to grill her in regards to the metropolis’s alleged failure to guard Jewish college students from illegal discrimination.
It’s the second time within the final two weeks Wu, some of the seen progressive mayors within the nation, has been focused by the Trump administration and it’s no coincidence.
It’s a impolite awakening for Wu, hailed for defending town’s Sanctuary Metropolis coverage on the congressional oversight committee and using excessive within the polls.
The Justice Division and Republican lawmakers clearly have it out for Wu in the midst of her re-election marketing campaign.
Wu’s robust character and dictatorial type have caught the eye of President Donald Trump, border czar Tom Homan and Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi.
“Too many elected officials chose not to stand up to a rising tide of antisemitism in our cities and campuses following the horrific events of October 7, 2023,” Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi stated in an announcement saying the go to to Boston and three different cities by the federal antisemitism panel. “Actions have consequences — inaction does too.”
Senior Counsel to the Assistant Legal professional Normal for Civil Rights Leo Terrell, a number one member of the duty pressure, stated he intends to satisfy with metropolis management, impacted college students, native regulation enforcement, and group members in Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, “as it gathers information” in regards to the alleged incidents and “considers whether federal intervention is warranted.”
By no means thoughts that Wu ordered Boston Police to arrest 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had been encamped at Emerson School on Boylston Place Alley final yr.
She was really closely criticized for the police’s actions by civil liberties teams, some metropolis councilors and pupil demonstrators who claimed they had been injured by zip ties.
However Boston and Massachusetts had been the facilities of plenty of pro-Hamas demonstrations the place Jewish college students stated they felt intimidated and harassed.
Through the top of the demonstrations, Wu stated comparatively little to point robust help for Israel – expressing help for each Jews and Palestinians. Larger Boston is house to the fourth largest Jewish group in the US.
“Boston is going to be a place where everyone is safe and all our views and perspectives have the space to be in conversation without any tolerance for threats or intimidation,” she stated because the Israel-Hamas struggle began.
However she is clearly altering her tune now that the feds have her of their sights.
“Boston has one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in America, a source of pride and strength for our City and our region, and we stand firmly against antisemitism,” a Wu spokesperson stated.
The conferences with Wu and the three different mayors from New York, Los Angeles and Chicago had been initiated by the DOJ quickly after the U.S. Division of Schooling warned 60 schools and universities from throughout the nation of potential enforcement actions if they don’t defend Jewish college students on their campuses.
The Division of Schooling letter was despatched to Boston College, Emerson School, Harvard College, Tufts College, UMass Amherst and Wellesley School, in addition to Middlebury School in Vermont, Brown College and Yale College.
