'Reeks of McCarthyism': Experts condemn 'targeted attack' after protester's arrest

In a CNN interview Monday, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union likened the arrest of a pro-Palestinian Columbia University student to 1950s McCarthyism.

The name of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who led the "Red Scare" congressional hearings to root out alleged communists, is now synonymous with the political persecution of left-wing liberals.

The Department of Homeland Security announced on X on Sunday night that “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student. Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization."

Khalil is a known Palestinian activist who led last spring's protests against Israel's war with Hamas at Columbia University. President Trump has called him a "Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student."

ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight

CNN's Boris Sanchez asked Donna Lieberman of the NYCLU, "DHS via social media, is accusing Khalil of having led activities aligned to Hamas. Do you know what that is in reference to?"

Lieberman answered, "I know what it's in reference to, but it's totally wrong, and it's an attempt to justify what is really a McCarthyite attack on free speech. This is a targeted attack on Mr. Khalil because he opposes the politics of the Trump administration. It's retaliatory and it's a violation of the First Amendment."

Sanchez asked if evidence existed that Khalil was a "paid agitator" for Hamas.

"There is not a hint of a claim that he did any of those things," Lieberman said. "The claim is that his opposition to the activities of Israel with regard to the Palestinians are grounds for him to be deported, and that is simply illegal. it's wrong, and it reeks of McCarthyism."

Lieberman added, "I know that there are lawyers involved, and they are fighting hard to ensure that he is released immediately. The government does not have a legal basis to hold him."

Watch the clip below via CNN.