Identity of Speakers
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Yousef Mahdy
Student
OtherTexas A&M Student alleged to have confronted two students tabling for Students Supporting Israel,
Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
University investigation issuing in sanctions
Title IX or other federal statute
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
In early April 2026, Texas A&M University opened a student conduct investigation after a viral video circulated online showing a student confronting two students tabling for Students Supporting Israel, a registered campus organization. In the video, the student directed repeated derogatory language at the students, including calling them “stinky Zionists,” “stinky scum,” and “dirty scums,” and stated, “get the hell out of our country.” The video was posted by an antisemitism watchdog account and spread widely across social media. Texas A&M issued a statement condemning antisemitism and stating that it was “actively investigating a recent situation,” while explaining that conduct involving harassment or intimidation would be reviewed under its student conduct policies.
Following the video’s circulation, Texas A&M leadership, including Chancellor Glenn Hegar, publicly stated that “harassing others with hateful and demeaning language is unacceptable” and confirmed that the university system was reviewing the facts of the incident. The university characterized the matter as an active conduct investigation and indicated it would assess whether the behavior violated policies governing harassment, intimidation, or disruption in campus settings.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent two letters to Texas A&M University regarding the investigation, on April 8, 2026 and May 19, 2026. In those letters, FIRE stated that the university had initiated and continued a disciplinary investigation into the student based on his recorded remarks directed at students associated with Students Supporting Israel. FIRE characterized the statements as offensive but argued they constituted protected speech under the First Amendment at a public university and did not meet the constitutional threshold for punishable harassment, true threats, or disruption. FIRE urged the university both times to end the investigation and refrain from discipline based on the speech at issue.
Through April and May 2026, Texas A&M continued to describe the matter as under review through its student conduct process, while reiterating its condemnation of antisemitism and maintaining that it was evaluating whether the conduct shown in the video violated applicable university policies governing harassment, intimidation, or disruptive behavior.
