WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) — U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Friday condemned news coverage of a Columbia University protester who a new investigative report says once claimed he liked to kill Jews, arguing that some media outlets have wrongly recast the man as a victim.
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“It is gross to see the media normalize this sickening behavior,” Scott wrote on X. “This guy called to gun down the Jewish people, yet some in the media paint him as the victim.”
“Let’s be clear: his views are antisemitic and anti-American,” the senator added. “Antisemitism or hatred of any kind has no place on our college campuses, and no place in our country.”
Scott shared a Washington Free Beacon article about Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Palestinian student from the West Bank who became an early leader of Columbia’s post-Oct. 7 protest movement. Mahdawi graduated from Columbia’s undergraduate program and has been described as a graduate student at the university’s School of International and Public Affairs.
The Free Beacon report, based on a 100-page investigation by David Collier and Rachel Feldman, accuses Mahdawi of a years-long record of supporting armed “resistance,” praising Hamas and other designated terrorist groups, and mourning slain militants as martyrs. The report says that record undercuts media portrayals of him as a gentle, dialogue-minded peace activist.
According to the report, Vermont police investigated Mahdawi in 2015 after he applied for work at a gun shop and allegedly told the owner he had used modified submachine guns “to kill Jews while he was in Palestine,” said “I like to kill Jews,” and claimed he had made guns for Hezbollah. Mahdawi later denied the remarks to authorities. The FBI interviewed him and the investigation was closed.
The Free Beacon said Mahdawi has also posted praise for Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades and other factions, mourned terrorists affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and described West Bank refugee camps as the “heart of the resistance.” Two days after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, he co-authored a campus statement asserting that occupied peoples have a right to resist and that “we should not be surprised when resistance and violence breaks out.”
Mahdawi was detained by ICE last year during an appointment related to U.S. citizenship. An immigration judge ordered him removed from the United States on June 3. The case is being appealed. Some mainstream outlets, including The New York Times, have profiled him as a moderate who moved away from protest toward dialogue, the Free Beacon said.
Scott, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, has repeatedly criticized campus antisemitism and previously organized Florida events aimed at confronting Jew-hatred after Oct. 7.
That so called judge that released him, should also be in prison
DEPORT HIM TO IRAN NOW
I hope this monster terrorist comes back AND. terrorizes
The judge!!!!!! Who. left this terrorist free to kill anyone he wants this is disgusting. Disgusting disgusting
Democrats all support this Jew hating terrorist because the democrats are the Hamas Nazi Supporter party.
It’s hard to reconcile someone claiming they “like to kill Jews” with any notion of a “dialogue-minded peace activist.” When we discuss tzedakah, the core principle is about justice and giving. Justice demands we see people as they are, and judge actions based on their impact on others. To praise violence and then be portrayed as a victim twists what justice means. The Alter Rebbe founded Colel Chabad in 1788 to support those in need in Eretz Yisrael, a legacy built on valuing every life. Our Pantry Packers program continues that work, focusing on tangible support and respect for all, not on glorifying hatred or violence.
The media’s portrayal of individuals like Mohsen Mahdawi often misses the full picture. It’s a pattern we see: complex figures are simplified, and their past actions or statements are downplayed to fit a narrative. This makes it harder for the public to understand the real issues at play. When someone with a documented history of praising terror groups and making violent statements is recast as a “moderate,” it damages public trust. It also makes it harder to address antisemitism when it is dressed up as something else.