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DOJ sues UCLA over alleged failure to protect Jewish, Israeli students
The Justice Department has initiated legal proceedings against UCLA, alleging that the university failed to address acts of discrimination and violence directed at Jewish and Israeli students during a protest in 2024. This protest saw some participants resorting to physical violence, including beatings and the use of pepper spray. Human rights lawyer Brooke Goldstein comments on the broader issue of antisemitism becoming entangled in political debates.
In a separate incident, a man has been charged following multiple assaults on five women within an hour on the UCLA campus. The suspect was reportedly carrying zip ties and duct tape at the time of his arrest.
Olumuyiwa Akindahunsi, 29, faces accusations of sexually assaulting two women and attempting to assault a third. He is also charged with physically attacking two additional women, with four of the victims being UCLA students, as outlined by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Although not affiliated with the university, Akindahunsi faces serious charges including one felony count of attempted kidnapping with the intent to commit rape, three counts of assault with intent to commit rape during a first-degree burglary, and two counts of assault likely to cause significant injury.
“These appalling attacks compromise the very essence of campus safety, leaving five victims traumatized and disrupting the university community,” stated Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. “We are actively collaborating with the UCLA Police Department to ensure that the perpetrator is brought to justice and faces full accountability for his actions.”
The campus of UCLA in Westwood, California. A man has been charged with allegedly assulting five woman in May on the UCLA campus in less than an hour. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
“Our swift actions should send a powerful deterrent message to anyone thinking of coming onto a college campus to harm anyone: they will be arrested, prosecuted, and punished,” he added. “Our university campuses need to be safe and protected spaces for our students, faculty, staff, and community, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that this happens.”
Akindahunsi’s alleged spree began at 11:30 p.m. on May 28 when he attacked a woman on Bruin Walk, a main campus walkway, and fled with her phone, authorities said.
Minutes later, he slipped behind two women into their dorm building and followed them to their room, prosecutors said. He allegedly sexually assaulted one of the women and assaulted the other. Both women managed to escape.
UCLA campus buildings are seen in Westwood, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2025. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Afterward, Akindahunsi entered a different dorm building and attempted to kidnap a woman walking down a hallway, authorities said. She broke free and fled.
Authorities said that shortly after, Akindahunsi sexually assaulted a woman in the hallway of her dorm, when a resident intervened and Akindahunsi fled the scene.
He was arrested by campus police minutes later near a parking structure after officers were flagged down by witnesses, the UCLA Police Department said.
Multiple witnesses identified Akindahunsi as the attacker, police said. He was found with zip ties, duct tape, and paracord, authorities said.
Akindahunsi is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail with no bail, according to jail records. His citizenship status was not immediately clear.
News Media has reached out to the university, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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