U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon was in Tallahassee on Thursday to speak at an event hosted by Florida State University's Institute of Governance and Civics
During the event, Harmeet fielded questions about the Trump administration's recent actions.
FSU students and faculty questioned Dhillon about her office's use of federal laws, including the FACE Act to arrest journalist Don Lemon in connection with an immigration enforcement protest at a church in Minneapolis.
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act prohibits the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates or interferes with reproductive health care facilities and houses of worship.
Dhillon said Lemon was an organizer of the protest.
"It's clear from the videos that were streamed by the participants before the event that it was planned, and it was planned for days in advance. We know that from some of the GoFundMe that is being done by some of the people who've been arrested, saying, 'Oh yeah, Don Lemon contacted me days in advance. And we, you know, traveled there, across state lines to do this event' " she said.
Lemon has maintained he was working as a journalist covering the event and was not a part of the demonstration.
Dhillon also spoke about the Department of Justice's efforts to scrutinize admissions processes at universities after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling effectively ended affirmative action.
"We pump billions of dollars into some of these Ivy League institutions, and are they following the law? I would argue some of them are not. And so far, I've negotiated half a billion dollars in settlements with some of the top institutions, including Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern and some others," she said.
During her talk, Dhillon also commended FSU leadership for suspending a student last year after a video went viral that showed the student confronting another student who was wearing an Israeli Defense Force shirt.
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