Noureldein GhanemWashington, DC — For many in the US, the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, Badar Khan Suri, and others, along with the resumption of the genocide in besieged Gaza, were a critical point to re-energise their pro-Palestine movement, keep the cause alive and push back against President Donald Trump's relentless crackdown on pro-Palestine voices.
This is what one protester said during arguably the biggest pro-Palestine march in the US since Trump returned to the White House, which started just outside the US Congress and ended up at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) doorsteps.
"When we say in our millions, in our billions, we are all Palestinians, we don't say that lightly. When one of us is being attacked, we're all being attacked," the protester, who preferred to remain anonymous for safety concerns, told TRT World.
"The same goes for the student repression and how Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa, being detained to be deported… This is only re-energising the movement."
She warned that the Trump administration will go beyond pro-Palestine activism as it will crack down on more sections in the US for simply not agreeing with their narrative.
Due to Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestine activism, most of the protesters' identities were kept anonymous for safety.
"It was a little bit scary (protesting), but I thought it was nothing compared to what the people in Gaza are experiencing every single day," a protester, Jessica, told TRT World.
Another protester, who goes by their initials L.P., said that the Trump administration won't stop at the Palestinians only, saying Trump is trying to distract the people from the genocide in Gaza.
"They (Trump administration) don't stop at Palestinians, they don't stop at immigrants. We have seen this before," L.P. told TRT World.
"He's trying to distract us from the genocide happening to the Gazan people, and also, he wants to distract us from the rights being taken away from immigrants in the United States right now."
L.P. pointed to the detention of Khalil and other students as a pattern that will continue to happen unless the people end it themselves.
"We saw this happening before Mahmoud; it was happening to students... I think that it will continue, and they're going to continue doing it until we actually build up enough strength as a people to really fight against these things because they don't stop until they're scared," L.P. added. "We know when they're scared when they start giving us petty wins… but we know that we need tangible wins, tangible wins."
The two protesters were among thousands who participated in the march, dubbed March for Palestine, that demanded an arms embargo on Israel, a permanent ceasefire in besieged Gaza, and the release of detained students over their criticism of Israel.
In the middle of the demonstration, children's shoes were lined up in remembrance of the roughly 17,000 children Israel slaughtered during its carnage in Gaza.
'Chilling message to free speech'
The march was endorsed and co-organised by nearly 300 organisations, including rights groups, trade unions, anti-war groups, women's groups and Muslim groups.
One of the endorsers and co-sponsoring groups of the march, the US Council of Muslim Organizations, said the march is meant to send a strong message to Trump and his administration that they will not accept the crackdown on them or any pro-Palestine voices.
"It (the march) emphasises that freedom of speech and peaceful protest are fundamental American values and rights that must be protected, not criminalised. The march also calls out policies that are seen as authoritarian and signals that the public will not stand by while these rights are undermined," Oussama Jammal, Secretary General of USCMO, told TRT World.
Jammal also warned that the crackdown on pro-Palestine may extend beyond the Palestinian cause, affecting other issues like climate and labour.
"The arrests of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, and Badar Khan Suri appear to signal a chilling effect on free speech, particularly targeting individuals who speak out in support of Palestine. This could set a dangerous precedent where dissenting voices on other issues—be it climate change, labour rights, or racial justice—may also face similar crackdowns," Jammal said.
"If left unchecked, such actions could erode democratic freedoms and push the country further toward authoritarianism. Public vigilance and legal challenges will be critical in preventing this trend from escalating."
Another co-sponsor, CODEPINK, told TRT World that people of conscience won't yield to Trump's move to silence them as long as the genocide in Gaza continues.
"Regardless of the attempts to silence pro-Palestine, anti-genocide voices; students, workers, teachers, artists, activists, healthcare workers, tech workers and people of conscience all over the world will not back down in the face of repression and intimidation, and will never back down so long as Gaza is under attack," Melissa Garriga, Communications and Media Relations Manager at CODEPINK, told TRT World.
"We are not under the illusion that Trump will listen to us; however, we do believe that there is power in refusing to be silent… By showing up in mass numbers, we are able to say we won't be silenced, and we are not afraid. It is a clear indication that the administration's Gestapo-style tactics will not work. They cannot deport and slander the pro-Palestine movement into non-existence — it is here to stay," she added.
Garriga also pointed to the same risks as Jammal, saying Trump's crackdown on anyone who doesn't agree with his policies has already begun.
"We are witnessing people being deported to El Salvador for simply having a tattoo. Last week, a Chinese-American tenured professor at Indiana University was deported without cause and no apparent link to pro-Palestine activism," she said.
"The recent court ruling against the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace in favour of Dakota Access was not just meant to shut them down with the unjustly $660 million fine but also a way to send a clear message to organisations across the board – if you disagree with us, we will come after you. All of this results in a complete dissolution of democracy and free speech that puts everyone at risk."
Ashik Siddique, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America — also one of the endorsers and co-sponsors — told TRT World that the detention of Khalil, Ozturk, Suri, among others, shows that the Trump administration is willing to violate "constitutionally protected rights" to punish those who speak out against them.
"This is a deeply alarming step in the direction of authoritarianism and a blatant encroachment on democracy in the United States," Siddique told TRT World.
Siddique also said that US authorities are "overreaching" in unacceptable ways to Americans who realise that the Trump administration is "scapegoating immigrants, particularly Palestinians and Muslims" to distract them from their efforts to slash federal workforce and spending.
Genocide in Gaza, crackdown in the US
The march comes amid a heavy crackdown by President Donald Trump and his government on pro-Palestine voices protesting Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
On March 8, authorities arrested Khalil, who led the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University last Spring. Trump hailed his arrest and said it was the "first of many."
Trump, without evidence, accused Khalil of supporting Hamas. Khalil denies links to the resistance group.
A few days after Khalil's arrest, Trump's claim came due after another pro-Palestine student, Suri, an Indian researcher at Georgetown University, was arrested. His attorney said he was arrested because of the Palestinian identity of his wife.
After the arrest of Suri, authorities went after another pro-Palestine student, Momodou Taal, asking him to turn himself in.
On March 25, Yunseo Chung, a Columbia University student, said she sued the Trump administration to stop her deportation from the US over her participation in a pro-Palestine protest last Spring.
Also on March 25, Ozturk, who is a Tufts University PhD student, was kidnapped in broad daylight by US authorities over criticising Israel's carnage in Gaza.
Trump also targeted US universities for allowing pro-Palestine protests on their campus.
He started with Columbia, which ignited a wave of pro-Palestine protests across US campuses, cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the university.
The university ultimately yielded to his pressure, announcing sweeping policy changes, including campus protest policies.
He then targeted Harvard, launching a review of alleged anti-Semitism and threatened to withdraw $9 billion in federal funding from the university.
The move came after the university dismissed the leaders of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in an attempt to distance itself from pro-Palestine voices and allegations of bias.
In besieged Gaza, Israel has reportedly killed 50,600 Palestinians, a number revised to 62,000, mostly women and children, during its genocidal war in the blockaded enclave since October 7, 2023.
During its carnage, Israel displaced almost the entire population of the enclave and put the strip under siege, blocking the entry of basic necessities, including food, water, medicine and other desperately needed humanitarian aid.
Organisers say they will protest against US authority's crack down on pro-Palestine voices, mainly students, to show that they will not be frightened into submission.
Clinging onto hope
While the majority of the demonstrators were angry and voiced displeasure by the resumption of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, others said it was important to keep up the hope.
"I think it's very important that people have hope," the protester, who goes by V, told TRT World.
"I think that they have to pour as much as they can into their communities and the people that they love… because we have to hold to each other really tight," she added. "That's the only way that we're going to be able to get through this, and we're going to be able to make change."
L.P. linked the Palestinian struggle and the African American struggle as "intertwined", recalling how Palestinians stood by the African Americans' side during their struggle.
"It's not about a niche community. It's about gaining liberation for all of us," L.P. said before shedding a tear.
