You may remember the two custodians who were terrorized by pro-Hamas criminals who seized one of the principal buildings at Columbia University a year ago. Now, they have sued their tormentors:
The Columbia University janitors who were held hostage during the violent takeover of a campus building last spring are suing their alleged captors for battery, assault, and conspiracy to violate their civil rights, according to a copy of the suit reviewed exclusively by The Free Press.
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It alleges that over 40 Columbia students and “outside agitators,” some but not all of whom were arrested by police following the takeover of Columbia’s Hamilton Hall last April 29, “terrorized” both [Mario] Torres and [Lester] Wilson “into the early morning of April 30th, assaulted and battered them, held them against their will, and derided them as ‘Jew-lovers’ and ‘Zionists.’”
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The lawsuit describes the protesters, the majority of whom “donned masks and hoods to conceal their identities,” as “reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan.”
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The “occupiers” named in Torres and Wilson’s lawsuit include leaders of Columbia’s most vocal anti-Israel groups like the Columbia University Apartheid Divest Coalition, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voices for Peace. Other defendants are people not associated with the university who were allegedly involved in the building takeover, including James Carlson, described in a New York Post story as a “longtime anarchist” and as the son of millionaires, and Lisa Fithian, a professional protest trainer and “lifelong agitator.” Also named in the suit is The People’s Forum, a far-left activist group responsible for organizing many of the anti-Israel protests at Columbia and across New York City.
This is great to see. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg charged some of the criminals, but then dismissed the charges. The complaint includes a harrowing description of what happened to Torres and Wilson:
The night of April 29, both Torres and Wilson were working the night shift as “heavy cleaners” inside Hamilton Hall, which is located in the center of Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus. Just past midnight, they heard loud shouts and then saw masked and hooded protesters armed with “rope, zip ties, and crow bars” breaking into the building and shattering windows, according to the suit.
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The suit states that masked rioters approached Torres and demanded he leave. They then “pressed a roll of cash into his hand and said, ‘This is bigger than you.’” After Torres initially refused to leave, the suit says, he noticed the rioters had become “more violent and threatening,” so he “demanded that they let him out of the building.” At this point, the protesters wouldn’t let him out, saying, “It’s over” and “It’s too late.” Later, they chastised him for being a “Jew-lover” and a “Zionist,” according to the suit.The suit alleges that a man later identified as Carlson confronted Torres and began “shoving” him and “standing in his way,” and then threatened him, saying: “I’m going to get 20 guys up here to fuck you up.”
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The suit states after Wilson refused to leave the building, and instead demand the protesters leave instead, “masked individuals began shoving him and ramming furniture into him.”When both men attempted to flee the building, they found all of the exits had been barricaded with heavy furniture including tables and vending machines, and had been locked shut using zip ties and bike chains, according to the lawsuit.
As the night unfolded, the suit states, both men feared for their lives.
Both plaintiffs allege that they have been unable to work since being terrorized by defendants, due to both physical and mental trauma.
Torres and Wilson are represented by Torridon Law and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Who is Torridon Law?
Our government experience includes serving as Attorney General of the United States; Counsel to the President, Deputy Counsel to the President, and Associate Counsel to the President; senior officials at the U.S. Department of Justice; Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; senior attorneys in federal and state agencies; and judicial law clerks at the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as other federal appellate and trial courts.
William Barr is the former Attorney General referred to above, and Pat Cipollone, against whom I tried a case years ago, is the former Counsel to the President. Fantastic. Much too often, due to the Left’s vast financial resources, our side is outgunned. It doesn’t look like that will happen here.
I assume that under New York law, punitive damages will be available against these defendants. Some of them come from wealthy families; it would be a good start to put them through personal bankruptcies. I don’t know whether, under New York law, judgments arising from torts of this kind would survive bankruptcy, or not. Let’s find out.
