老澳门开奖结果

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. 鈥� The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida today denied the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine鈥檚 request for a preliminary injunction, finding that Florida officials do not intend to deactivate the Florida chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). UF SJP is represented by the 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Florida, and Palestine Legal.

鈥淔lorida officials are now on notice that if they attempt to enforce the deactivation order, we will be back in court to uphold our client鈥檚 First Amendment rights,鈥� said Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney with 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 鈥淭he Chancellor should formally acknowledge that the deactivation order will not be enforced by removing it from his official website.鈥�

The court鈥檚 core ruling was based on Florida University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues鈥� public statements walking back the Florida deactivation order. The decision focused on Chancellor鈥檚 Rodriguez鈥檚 acknowledgement that the UF and USF chapters of SJP are fully autonomous from the national SJP organization 鈥� and that university officials are concerned about incurring personal liability if they were to enforce the deactivation order.

鈥淣ot implementing the Deactivation Order for fear that Chancellor Rodrigues and members of the Board of Governors would be held personally liable is a classic example of doing the right thing for the wrong reasons,鈥� said Howard Simon, Interim Executive Director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Florida. 鈥淭he Deactivation Order should be withdrawn 鈥� it should never have been issued 鈥� because it violates the free speech rights of university students and the important role that universities play in American life to vigorously debate all social issues free from censorship.鈥�

In the decision, the court acknowledged the anxiety and fear that the student groups must be feeling, saying: 鈥淭his Court does not fault Plaintiff鈥檚 members for feeling anxious about the fact that the Governor鈥攁rguably the most powerful man in Florida鈥攈as repeatedly disparaged Plaintiff鈥檚 members as 鈥榯errorists鈥� who support 鈥榡ihad鈥� and repeated the falsehood that their organization has been 鈥榙eactivated.鈥欌�� But the court determined the Chancellor's public comments made it clear enough that neither he nor the university had plans to act upon the deactivation order.

鈥淓ver since the deactivation order was issued, we have had to look over our shoulders, knowing we are under threat of being shut down at any minute,鈥� said the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. 鈥淲e refuse to let those in power intimidate us into staying silent, and hope that our lawsuit to protect our First Amendment rights will give heart to other students speaking out for Palestinian rights and calling for an end to the current violence in Gaza.鈥�

This lawsuit comes amid a troubling rise in calls for schools across the country to censor pro-Palestinian students and student groups for 鈥渕aterial support for terrorism,鈥� without any evidentiary basis, along with other extreme and discriminatory proposals to cancel visas and deport international students who protest in support of Palestine.

鈥淥ur clients are exceptionally brave but they, like most 19-year-olds, reasonably fear consequences when the most powerful figures in the state publicly take credit for shutting down their student group,鈥� said Radhika Sainath, senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal. 鈥淓lected officials across the country are trying to chill and criminalize student speech supporting Palestinian human rights at a time when their words matter more than ever. SJP鈥檚 activism sits squarely in the tradition of students protesting against injustice, and we鈥檙e glad to see the court recognize that our clients are engaged young people speaking out for their community.鈥�