Lawmakers demand answers after Dem mayor allegedly declined police support to university amid Israel protests

Media

Lawmakers demand answers after Dem mayor allegedly declined police support to university amid Israel protests

Rep. Tim Walberg demands briefing from Daniel Biss over allegedly refusing to help clear anti-Israel encampments in April 2024

Joshua Q. Nelson Fox News

Published

January 28, 2026 7:30pm EST

Updated

January 28, 2026 6:30pm EST

Video

Education Secretary Linda McMahon: Trump won't tolerate antisemitism on campus

Education Secretary Linda McMahon discusses the president seeking to end $100 million in Harvard federal contracts on 'America Reports.'

NEW

You can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX — The mayor of Evanston, Illinois allegedly "endangered" Jewish students at Northwestern University, according to documents obtained by the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., sent a letter to Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, D., on Wednesday requesting him to address alleged inaction about encampments set up by anti-Israel agitators amid the conflict in Gaza.

"This briefing will aid the Committee in considering whether potential legislative changes, including legislation to specifically address antisemitic discrimination, are needed," the chairman wrote.

Walberg’s letter states documents allegedly showed that Biss refused to clear Northwestern University’s encampments.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP SLAMS NEW PRESIDENT AS 'FASCIST' OVER PREVIOUS ENCAMPMENT BUST-UP

Anti-Israel signs seen at an encampment at Northwestern University

Students and residents camp outside Northwestern University during an anti-Israel protest, expressing solidarity with Palestinians with banners in Evanston, Illinois, on April 27. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"I write with grave concern regarding your failure to protect Jewish students at Northwestern University (Northwestern) by refusing to give the university the police support it desperately needed to clear its violent and antisemitic encampment in April 2024," Walberg wrote. "Just recently, you touted this failure in a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, describing the individuals at the encampment as ‘peaceful.’ In reality, the encampment was a hotbed of antisemitic harassment and hostility, including multiple alleged assaults and virulently antisemitic signage."

Northwestern University was among several universities across the country rocked by protests amid the conflict in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel.

COOPER UNION SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH JEWISH STUDENTS AND MAKES SWEEPING CHANGES TO PROTEST POLICY

The Daily Northwestern reported that an encampment constructed on the campus lasted four days in April 2024 and was the first to result in an agreement between the protestors and the university.

In November, the Trump administration announced an agreement with Northwestern University requiring the school to pay $75 million and protect students and staff from any "hostile educational environment directed toward Jewish students."

Northwestern University pro-Palestinian protest

Students and residents camp outside Northwestern University during a pro-Palestinian protest, expressing solidarity with Palestinians with banners in Evanston, Illinois, United States on April 27, 2024. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the Northwestern agreement "a huge win for current and future Northwestern students, alumni, faculty, and for the future of American higher education."

The agreement came after the Trump administration froze approximately $790 million from Northwestern over potential civil rights investigations.

According to The Daily Northwestern, Biss wrote a letter to the Department of Education asking how the agreement with Northwestern would impact Evanston.

Northwestern is generally considered one of the largest employers in Evanston, with more than 6,500 staff and faculty members.

Walberg cited a Northwestern trustee accusing Biss of avoiding the encampment on campus in order to gain favor with progressive counterparts.

He wrote that Northwestern sought to arrest protesters on April 26 but was unable to do so with "too few police to safely get this done" due to the mayor’s "refusal to provide support."

MAMDANI PLEDGED TO FIGHT FOR ALL BUT SCRAPPED ORDER JEWISH STUDENTS SAY PROTECTED THEM

Walberg wrote: "Concerningly, a Northwestern trustee said at the time that you were publicizing your refusal to provide the campus with support in order to ‘shore up [your] progressive credentials.’ The same trustee advised Northwestern’s then-president: ‘If the winds blow the wrong way [Biss] will throw you under the bus. No hesitation.’"

The Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., sent a letter to Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss requesting he address alleged inaction about encampments set up on Northwestern University by anti-Israel agitators. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Walberg demanded Biss to address his coordination with local law enforcement while anti-Israel agitators protested on college campuses in Evanston.

"Considering your recent interest in campus conduct and antidiscrimination efforts at Northwestern, the Committee requests a briefing on, in your words, ‘local law-enforcement coordination’ when it comes to antisemitic activity on college campuses in Evanston," he wrote.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Northwestern nor Evanston officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.

Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program.

Story tips can be sent to joshua.nelson@fox.com and Joshua can be followed on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Lawmakers demand answers after Dem mayor allegedly declined police support to university amid Israel protests