A Fascism Expert Is Fleeing the US - Here’s Why
Crackdowns on student protests, political pressure on universities - a Yale scholar says it’s a sign of what’s coming.
Jason Stanley, a Yale professor and leading expert on fascism, has announced he’s leaving the United States for Canada.
His reason?
He believes the US is on the verge of becoming a fascist dictatorship - and what’s happening at American universities, particularly Columbia, has pushed him over the edge.
Columbia University recently gave in to demands from the Trump administration in order to restore $400 million in federal funding. One of those demands was to crack down on pro-Palestinian student protests.
Since then, Columbia has become ground zero for a wave of repression - and it’s not just limited to disciplinary action.
Students have been arrested and are now being threatened with deportation.
Among them is Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident and key organiser of Columbia’s pro-Palestinian protests. Another student, Leqaa Kordia, has also been arrested and faces possible deportation. And Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student, had her visa revoked and was forced to flee to Canada to avoid being detained.
And it’s not just Columbia.
Across the country, students are being targeted. At Georgetown University, Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow, was recently arrested. At Tufts University near Boston, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student, was also detained after publicly voicing support for Palestinians during Israel’s war on Gaza.
What do all of these students have in common? They’re not citizens, they’ve spoken out for Palestinian rights, and now they’re being falsely accused of terrorism or antisemitism - simply for opposing genocide and supporting human rights.
According to multiple legal experts and civil rights organisations, this is part of a broader effort by the US government to use funding as a weapon - coercing universities into suppressing speech, policing thought, and punishing dissent.
The goal? To create a university system that only teaches content deemed acceptable by the government - particularly by those in power with a far-right agenda.
As Jason Stanley warned, this is how fascism works: silencing opposition, criminalising protest, and stripping institutions of their independence.
Today it’s pro-Palestinian voices - often foreign students, immigrants, or people of colour. Tomorrow it could be anyone who challenges the status quo, including US citizens.
What happened at Columbia has set a dangerous precedent. Universities are becoming battlegrounds for political control - and academic freedom is on life support.
Stanley’s decision to leave may seem drastic to some, but for those paying attention, it’s a chilling reminder that what’s happening now is no longer theoretical.
It’s happening in real time - and it’s escalating fast.