In a dramatic legal battle unfolding at Columbia University, janitors Mario Torres and Lester Wilson have initiated a lawsuit against pro-Hamas demonstrators and their financial backers.
The charges include battery, assault, and conspiracy to infringe upon their civil rights, all stemming from a tumultuous incident in 2024. During this event, protestors forcefully occupied Hamilton Hall, leaving a trail of chaos and fear in their wake.
The aftermath of this violent episode has left Torres and Wilson grappling with severe physical injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, as detailed in their lawsuit. Their ordeal has been so debilitating that neither has been able to resume their duties at the university.
The legal action, filed on April 25, names several individuals and entities as defendants, including James Carlson, Aidan Parisi, Grant Miner, Catherine Curran-Groome, Peoples Forum, Inc., Lisa Fithian, Gabriel Yancy, Ethan Choi, and unnamed others.
According to The Gateway Pundit, the lawsuit was lodged in federal court by Torridon Law and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, representing the beleaguered janitors. The suit accuses over 40 Columbia students and "outside agitators" of having "terrorized" Torres and Wilson during the takeover, which extended into the early hours of April 30. The protestors allegedly assaulted, battered, and unlawfully detained the janitors while hurling derogatory epithets such as "Jew-lovers" and "Zionists."
Tara Helfman, a lawyer from Torridon, emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, Mario and Lester are decent, honest, hardworking men who have been through hell. None of this ever should have happened. The lawsuit paints a chilling picture of the protestors, likening them to the Ku Klux Klan due to their masked and hooded appearances. It further alleges that these individuals are part of a broader pro-Hamas, anti-Semitic network that employs violent and illegal tactics fueled by discrimination against Jews and their supporters.
The Gateway Pundit also highlighted a particularly intense moment captured in a photograph, showing Torres confronting James Carlson, a 40-year-old protestor, against a wall in Hamilton Hall. Torres later recounted to reporter Francesca Block that the protestors were highly organized, with their occupation meticulously planned.
Trapped inside the building during the siege, the janitors experienced "sheer terror" as the mob, armed with zip ties and chains, roamed the premises. They carried hand-drawn floor plans and supply lists, underscoring the premeditated nature of their actions. Henry Clemente, a head custodian at Columbia, expressed his fears to The New York Post, stating, If you have masked people running through the building with zip ties and chains, you dont know what theyre going to do if theyre going to take you hostage, if youre going to be tortured, if youre going to be made an example.
As Clemente and his team worked to clean up the aftermath, they stumbled upon handwritten plans that confirmed the takeover was far from spontaneous. It was, in fact, a meticulously orchestrated operation, leaving a lasting impact on those caught in its path.
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