A federal judge has mandated that the University of Florida reinstate a law student who was expelled for making inflammatory remarks regarding race and religion, including social media messages asserting that Jewish people should be “abolished.”
Preston Damsky, a law student at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law, was suspended in April after he posted on X, stating, “My position on the Jewish people is simple. Whatever Harvard professor Noel Ignatieff meant in his call to ‘abolish the white race by any means necessary,’ that is what I think we must do with the Jews. The Jewish people must be abolished by any means necessary.”
He engaged in a discussion with a Jewish professor at his university, responding to their conversation about his post by asking whether Ignatieff intended to kill white people and questioning if such words were as detestable as his own remarks. Damsky argued that if Ignatieff promoted genocide, then the targeting of white individuals, who are numerically greater, would be an even worse atrocity than the genocide of all Jews.
Following an investigation, in late May, the university charged him with breaching the student code of conduct due to these posts and his comments in two seminar papers, leading to his expulsion. Damsky filed a lawsuit on September 14, arguing that his removal violated the First Amendment.
In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Allen Windsor ruled in favor of Damsky and issued a preliminary injunction requiring the university to readmit him into law school by December 1. The judge stated that the university had not demonstrated that Damsky’s speech was a legitimate threat or particularly reprehensible.
Windsor referenced a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Virginia vs. Black, which emphasizes that even hate-filled expressions can’t be banned solely because they offend.
“The university has an interest in maintaining order, but it shouldn’t violate the First Amendment to achieve that,” Judge Windsor noted.
The university claimed Damsky’s actions had significantly disrupted the academic environment and led to increased security measures, ultimately barring him from campus due to safety concerns raised by other students.
Windsor acknowledged Damsky had been a contentious figure at the university since his admission, suggesting he seemed to relish pushing boundaries. The judge pointed to two of Damsky’s seminar papers that controversially argued in favor of preserving the U.S. for the upliftment of white Americans.
Damsky defended his remarks as constitutionally protected political speech, with his attorney, Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini, praising the ruling as a significant victory for First Amendment rights.
Sabatini stated, “Today, on behalf of my client Preston Damsky, we achieved a major First Amendment victory against UFLaw.” He expressed confidence in the judge’s ruling against what he described as unconstitutional actions by the university.
The University of Florida has refrained from commenting on the ongoing litigation but may consider appealing the preliminary injunction. A trial is reportedly set for May, as per Reuters.
