UT-Dallas professor files federal lawsuit against university, alleging discrimination after arrest during 2024 protest

DALLAS — A professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, who is Muslim, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the university this week, alleging discrimination in connection with his arrest amid a 2024 protest on campus over the war in Gaza. 

The professor, Dr. Ali Asgar H. Alibhai, alleges in the lawsuit that he was “violently” arrested while walking across campus, and that he “was not participating in any protest or unlawful activity.” Alibhai’s attorneys say a Collin County grand jury later cleared him of all charges after his arrest. 

“As he walked toward the Student Center, he encountered a student-led protest encampment and observed a sudden and heavily militarized law enforcement presence advancing on students who, based on his direct observations, were peaceful and nonviolent,” the lawsuit states.

Alibhai began filming video after becoming “alarmed by the volume of police officers, the deployment of riot gear, the use of long-barreled weapons and loud chants by officers,” the lawsuit states. He told the officers to remain calm, repeating “they are just kids,” the lawsuit states.

Alibhai alleges in the lawsuit that an unidentified officer “physically seized” him, and he was “forcibly detained.”

“At no point did Plaintiff obstruct, interfere with, or threaten law enforcement. He was standing in a public space, lawfully present on campus, engaging in constitutionally protected observation and speech. Nonetheless, he was forcibly detained. Multiple officers kicked Plaintiff, twisted his limbs, and attempted to throw him to the ground. His shirt was ripped in public view,” the lawsuit states.

Alibhai alleges in the lawsuit that a UT-Dallas police officer was among those involved.

“Plaintiff was then shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles and placed inside a metal transport van, which officers shut off without ventilation. Before this, however, although Plaintiff and others were already seated and secured in the van, they were removed in public view and subjected to a secondary ‘chaining ceremony,’ where they were shackled with metal restraints in front of the roundabout and the Atheneum,” the lawsuit states.

Alibhai says in the lawsuit that he was confined in the van for nearly an hour. 

“At Collin County Jail, Plaintiff and others were first brought through a covered vehicle area where officers with firearms lined them up against a wall, removed their metal shackles, and re-applied plastic restraints,” the lawsuit states.

Alibhai says after he was taken for processing, “an officer cutting away plastic restraints inflicted a deep laceration on Plaintiff’s wrist,” and “no medical care was provided.”

He says in the lawsuit that he was informed of his arrest for criminal trespassing after his release, and a Collin County grand jury declined to indict him on the charge in April 2025. 

“Immediately following Plaintiff’s release from custody, and continuing throughout the pendency of the criminal investigation, UTD administrators imposed restrictive and stigmatizing conditions on Plaintiff’s access to his office and campus facilities, including requiring advance notice to the UTD Police Department. These restrictions remained in effect even after the grand jury returned a no-bill in April 2025 nearly twelve months after his arrest and were not imposed on similarly situated white faculty members who had also been arrested,” the lawsuit alleges.

Alibhai seeks damages and “injunctive relief to prevent similar abuses in the future” in the lawsuit. 

Twenty-one people were arrested in connection with a pro-Palestinian encampment on May 1, 2024 the UT-Dallas campus.

“This is not just about a single arrest,” said Justin Moore, lead attorney for Dr. Alibhai. “It’s about an institution using its power to silence dissent and marginalize those it finds inconvenient.”

UT-Dallas said in a statement to WFAA Monday that Alibhai is employed at the university and that the university had not been notified about the lawsuit.