A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on Nov. 14 that blocked the Trump administration from cutting federal funding to the University of California over its handling of anti-Semitism on campus.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed on Sept. 16 by associations and labor unions representing employees across the university system’s 10 campuses, who alleged that the administration violated their First Amendment rights by cutting off funding to the university because of alleged discriminatory practices.

Judge Rita Lin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California stated that the plaintiffs have presented “overwhelming evidence” that showed that the administration engaged in “a concerted campaign to purge ‘woke,’ ‘left,’ and ‘socialist’ viewpoints” from the nation’s leading universities.

“Agency officials, as well as the President and Vice President, have repeatedly and publicly announced a playbook of initiating civil rights investigations of preeminent universities to justify cutting off federal funding, with the goal of bringing universities to their knees and forcing them to change their ideological tune,” Lin stated in her ruling.

“It is undisputed that this precise playbook is now being executed at the University of California.”

According to court documents, the administration withheld $584 million in research funds from the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) in July—including funds from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy—citing its alleged failures to tackle anti-Semitism and discriminatory admissions practices. It also imposed a $1.2 billion fine on UCLA.

The administration has demanded that UCLA comply with its gender policy and establish a process to make sure foreign students are not admitted if they are likely to engage in anti-American, anti-Western, or anti-Semitic activities, among other requirements outlined in a settlement proposal made public in October.

“Plaintiffs have shown that Defendants are coercing the [University of California] as a whole, through the Task Force Policy and Funding Cancellation, in order to stamp out their members’ disfavored speech,” Lin said.

“Therefore, to afford Plaintiffs complete relief, the entirety of the coercive practice must be enjoined, not just the suspensions that impact Plaintiffs’ members.”

The plaintiffs said they welcomed the judge’s decision.

“[The administration’s actions are] not just a harmful attempt to stifle speech, it is a betrayal of the Constitution and a dangerous step toward autocracy,” they said in a statement released by Democracy Forward, which represented the plaintiffs.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

The University of California itself is not a plaintiff and is engaged in settlement talks with the administration. The university system said it “remains committed to protecting the mission, governance, and academic freedom of the University.”

The university’s campuses were among the 60 institutions of higher education that were placed under investigation in March for allegations of anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment on U.S. campuses in the wake of terrorist group Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

On March 10, Education Secretary Linda McMahon urged university leaders to prevent discrimination against Jewish students on campus or risk losing federal funding.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.