Individual Student Rioters & Professional Agitators Sued on Multiple Counts
NEW YORK, April 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Torridon Law, alongside the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, filed a federal lawsuit Friday on behalf of Columbia University custodians Mariano "Mario" Torres and Lester Wilson, two working-class employees who claim they were violently attacked and held against their will during the April 29, 2024, mob takeover of Hamilton Hall.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks to hold individual rioters, including Columbia students, outside agitators, and extremist organizers personally accountable for the life-altering injuries and trauma suffered by Mr. Torres and Mr. Wilson.
"For months, Columbia's campus spiraled into a climate of hate, intimidation, and lawlessness. Mario and Lester went to work to provide for themselves and their families and instead found themselves the victims of a hate-fueled, premeditated attack," said Former Attorney General Bill Barr. "Mario and Lester are seeking the justice they deserve and sending a powerful message that those who terrorize others will be held accountable under the law."
The lawsuit details the planning, coordination, and military-style execution of a plan to seize and occupy Columbia University's Hamilton Hall. Hours before the attack, more than 100 students and outside activists convened at The People's Forum in Manhattan, where they received strategic direction. Rioters prepared hand-drawn maps identifying barricade points inside Hamilton Hall and coordinated their siege. They apparently employed tactics from a militant propaganda manual - the so-called "Underground Manual" - that instructs operatives on how to carry out masked, violent actions while evading law enforcement. The rioters' planning included confronting and, if necessary, harassing, bribing, or assaulting Columbia staff, which Mr. Torres and Mr. Wilson ultimately experienced firsthand.
Among the defendants are James "Cody" Carlson, a licensed New York attorney and self-described anarchist who acted as a ringleader inside Hamilton Hall, and Lisa Fithian, a so-called "professional agitator" who directed the blockade of Hamilton Hall from outside the building.
Both Mr. Torres and Mr. Wilson have been unable to return to work since the attack, suffering physical injuries, emotional trauma, and PTSD. They are seeking undisclosed financial damages to address the financial and emotional costs of being forced out of work by the violent assault, including lost wages, medical expenses, and the long-term impact on their health and livelihoods.
The lawsuit is Mariano Torres and Lester Wilson v. James Carlson, Aidan Parisi, Grant Miner, Catherine Curran-Groome, People's Forum, Inc., Lisa Fithian, Gabriel Yancy, Ethan Choi, and John Does 1–40, Civil Action No. 25-cv-3474.
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Contact:
Theresa Walker | twalker@torridonlaw.com | 202-318-2023
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SOURCE Torridon Law PLLC
