Judge dismisses the Department of Justice lawsuit against pro-Palestinian protesters

A federal judge in New Jersey has dismissed the Department of Justice lawsuit against pro-Palestinian organisations and activists, halting the Trump administration’s attempt to use for the first time a law traditionally linked to abortion clinics against protesters, as Reuters reports.

Judge Katharine Hayden ruled that the government’s complaint did not sufficiently prove the alleged violations of the statute. She dismissed the claims “without prejudice”, which means the government has 30 days to file an amended complaint. The lawsuit was filed in September 2025 under the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, 1994) — legislation traditionally used against those who block the entrances of abortion clinics.

According to the head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon, it was the first time this law had been used to allege interference with religious worship. The department accused the activists of having intimidated participants during a November 2024 protest against an event at a New Jersey synagogue — presented as a spiritual service and a real-estate fair promoting the sale of properties in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The lawsuit alleged violence, physical attacks on worshippers, chanting and vuvuzela noise.

The Trump administration has meanwhile restricted the use of the FACE Act in abortion cases, claiming the law had been politicised, and last year the president pardoned several people prosecuted under this law. In parallel, the administration has sharply toughened measures against pro-Palestinian protesters — from attempts to deport them to freezing university funding, monitoring social media and sanctions against critics of Israel.

The administration has called the protesters antisemitic, while the protesters themselves say that criticism of Israel is not antisemitism. Judge Hayden’s decision marks an important moment in this legal clash, even though the government retains the right to return with a revised lawsuit.