Freed Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi accused of telling gun shop owner that he used to ‘kill Jews’ in Palestine: court docs

Freed Palestinian Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi was once accused of telling a Vermont gun store owner that he used to “kill Jews while he was in Palestine” with modified automatic firearms that he built himself, court documents allege.

The allegations were laid bare in court papers filed Wednesday as the Trump administration unsuccessfully sought to keep Mahdawi in custody following his arrest for leading anti-Israel protests on the Ivy League campus.

In arguing their case, the Trump admin honed in on a visit Mahdawi made to the gun store in the summer of 2015, which resulted in the owner alerting local cops, the filing states.

“The gun shop owner told Windsor, Vermont, police officers that Mr. Mahdawi had visited his store twice, expressing an interest in learning more about firearms and buying a sniper rifle and an automatic weapon and that he ‘had considerable firearm experience and used to build modified 9mm submachine guns to kill Jews while he was in Palestine’,” the papers charge.

The owner also gave cops the name of another gun enthusiast who’d allegedly had a similar conversation with Mahdawi at a firearm museum where he volunteered.

In that exchange, the filing alleges the Columbia student said, “I like to kill Jews.”

Mahdawi, in his response, noted that he was interviewed by an FBI agent shortly after but denied making the remarks, the court papers state.

“Mahdawi confirmed that he had visited the gun shop and the Precision Museum but that he had never discussed buying weapons or killing Jews,” the filing notes.

He added, too, that he’d visited the gun store to ask whether he needed to register a shotgun his then-wife had bought him.

Mahdawi is said to have told the agent he went to the museum because it was close to his house and he had an interest in machinery.

“Mr Mahdawi states that the FBI agent was satisfied with his explanation and closed the investigation,” the docs state.

Mahdawi was released from custody Wednesday following an order from US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford.

Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident for 10 years, was arrested on April 14 during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship.

The State Department ultimately accused Mahdawi of engaging in “threatening rhetoric and intimidation” against Jewish students during Columbia protests.

Mahdawi’s lawyers argued he was detained in retaliation for his speech advocating for Palestinian human rights.

In his release order, the judge said Mahdawi had raised a “substantial claim that the government arrested him to stifle speech with which it disagrees.”

“Even if he were a firebrand, his conduct is protected by the First Amendment,” the judge wrote, adding that offending political opponents or alarming the State Department doesn’t make him dangerous enough to justify detention.

The Post reached out to Mahdawi’s attorney but didn’t immediately hear back.