Sanctioned Diplomat At Heart Of Canceled Anti-Semitic Maine Conference Files Suit Against Trump

The UN official whose anti-israeli sentiments led to the cancellation of a University of Southern Maine conference is suing president Trump for allegedly trampling on her rights to free speech.

Francesca Albanese was to have been a featured speaker Sunday at a Palestinian-rights conference in Portland.

But once university officials found out that she had been sanctioned by the US government they canceled the conference, which was later rescheduled at a different location.

Albanese’s family is now suing the Trump administration for sanctioning her over her criticism of Israel’s policies during the war with Hamas in Gaza.

In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, Albanese’s husband and child outlined the alleged impact the sanctions have had on the family’s life and work, including the ability to access their home in the nation’s capital.

“Francesca’s expression of her views about the facts as she has found them in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and about the work of the ICC is core First Amendment activity,” the lawsuit says, referring to the international criminal court. That tribunal has issued arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over allegations of war crimes.

“At its heart, this case concerns whether Defendants can sanction a person – ruining their life and the lives of their loved ones, including their citizen daughter – because Defendants disagree with their recommendations or fear their persuasiveness,” according to the filing.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, The Associated Press said.

Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, is a member of a group of experts chosen by the 47-member UN human rights council in Geneva.

She has been tasked with investigating human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories and has been vocal about what she has described as the “genocide” by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza.

Both Israel and the U.S., which provides military support to its close ally, have strongly denied the genocide accusation.

Washington had decried what it has called Albanese’s “campaign of political and economic warfare” against the U.S. and Israel before imposing sanctions on her in July after an unsuccessful domestic pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post.