Khalil's wife, who has remained anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said in a statement that the past week has been a "nightmare," adding her family has been the target of "an intense and targeted doxxing campaign" focused on "spreading false claims about my husband that were simply not based in reality."
Khalil's arrest is seen as a statement by the Trump administration that the U.S. will no longer tolerate public support of a terrorist organization.
"This is the first arrest of many to come. We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it. Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.