Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida v. Raymond Rodrigues

Summary

In October 2023, Florida officials directed state universities to disband campus chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), alleging the national organization supported Hamas following the October 7 attacks on Israel. The directive, issued by State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues and backed by Governor Ron DeSantis, cited a national SJP “toolkit” that referred to the attacks as “the resistance” and asserted that “Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement.” Rodrigues argued that such alignment could constitute unlawful material support for a foreign terrorist organization under Florida law.

However, in November 2023, the state paused the directive after legal counsel warned university leaders they could face personal liability for violating students’ constitutional rights. Chancellor Rodrigues acknowledged that the campus groups at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida were not officially affiliated with the national SJP organization. Nonetheless, he indicated that the chapters would need to affirm their commitment to nonviolence, though the specifics of this requirement remained unclear.

The University of Florida’s SJP chapter, represented by the ACLU and other civil liberties groups, filed a lawsuit in November 2023, claiming the state’s actions violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and association. The lawsuit emphasized that the state cannot compel student groups to disavow certain views as a condition for recognition. In January 2024, a federal judge denied the students’ request for an injunction, noting that Florida officials had not taken steps to enforce the deactivation order. Nonetheless, advocates argue that the threat of deactivation has already chilled student speech and sets a concerning precedent for political expression on campuses.