The US Justice Department is investigating whether individuals involved in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University last year violated federal anti-terrorism laws, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Friday.

The action came less than a week after Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate and a prominent figure in campus demonstrations, was arrested.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it was looking into what it said were possible violations of terrorism laws during protests over the Gaza war at Columbia University, putting fresh pressure on the epicenter of last year's nationwide anti-Israel activism.

Columbia University announced punishments, including expulsions and suspensions, for students who occupied Hamilton Hall in a pro-Palestinian protest last year.

The U.S. Justice Department is examining whether student protests at Columbia University over the Gaza war violated federal terrorism laws, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday. Blanche said the investigation is also looking into civil rights violations tied to the demonstrations that roiled the New York campus last year.

Columbia University on Thursday said it had doled out a range of punishments to students who occupied a campus building last spring during pro-Palestinian protests. The announcement came a week after President Donald Trump's administration announced that it had canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts in response to what it said was the Ivy League school's poor response to antisemitism on campus.

A Palestinian woman was arrested in New Jersey, while another activist from India chose to "self-deport", US officials say.

Fox News senior correspondent Eric Shawn reports on the fallout from continued anti-Israel protests at Columbia University on ‘Special Report.’