As DeSantis attacks pro-Palestinian student groups, judge warns 'words have consequences'

A federal judge will soon decide whether to block a directive from Gov. Ron DeSantis and a top higher education official to deactivate two Florida pro-Palestinian university student groups.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker walked out of his Tallahassee courtroom on Friday without issuing a ruling and without saying when he expected to release one. But he wasn’t very happy when he left.

“It’s not lost on me that it very much matters to you when someone runs off at the mouth and puts your lives in danger,” Walker said at the end of the hearing, which was focused on a request for a temporary block of the directive pending an ultimate decision. He was addressing a group of pro-Palestinian students in attendance.

“Words have consequences,” he said, pointing to how three Palestinian college students in Vermont were shot in late November.

Walker, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, commended the young spectators for being engaged in the face of all that. They were students of one of the affected groups: the University of Florida’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

But Walker emphasized his comments didn’t represent how he would rule on the case. Over several hours, he dug into the plaintiffs' lawsuit, asking a series of pointed questions on how their concerns represented an actionable chilling of First Amendment-protected speech and assembly.

Walker went so deep that he found it important to also tell the students, “I’m in no way minimizing your concerns or suggesting your concerns are not important.”

Are recent ‘demonstrably false’ DeSantis statements chilling?

A part of the hang up is that the groups haven’t actually been deactivated.

Some of Walker’s questions focused on, for example, if “demonstrably false” statements from DeSantis on the contrary actually created legal issues.

In late October, in a move that troubled free speech advocates, DeSantis and his top higher education official, State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, told universities two Florida Students for Justice in Palestine chapters "must be deactivated." One’s at UF, and the other’s at the University of South Florida.

It came weeks after Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel, taking hostages, with Israel responding by bombing and invading Gaza. In a letter, Rodrigues accused National Students for Justice in Palestine of providing “material support” to Hamas, which is a felony.

But he later said universities hadn't deactivated the chapters, finding evidence that they were independent from that national organization. That omission contradicted DeSantis, who bragged about the groups already being deactivated.

“The governor was right to disband a group that provides material support to a terrorist organization,” Jeremy Redfern, his press secretary, wrote in a November email, even after Rodrigues’ clarification.

While not actually disbanded, attorneys for the student groups say DeSantis’ statements and how Rodrigues and the Florida Board of Governors haven’t rescinded the directive have created a threat of deactivation that is negatively affecting the organizations.

“The simple fact of the matter is that the words used by Chancellor Rodrigues in his deactivation memo are chilling the rights of college students throughout the state of Florida to join the clubs and express the views of their choosing,” said Brian Hauss, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, in a post-hearing press conference.

Justin Sadowsky, an attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said even the national groups’ actions, which Rodrigues accused of breaking the law, were legally sound and protected by the First Amendment.

“There is no evidence or any reason to believe that they coordinated with Hamas or any other terrorist organization,” Sadowsky said.

And the student groups are separate from that group, anyway.

“Our clients are peaceful, innocent, passionate supporters of peace and justice in Palestine, and they've been accused of being terrorists," Sadowsky said. “Gov. DeSantis and Chancellor Rodrigues should be ashamed of themselves. They should take the time now to admit that what they did was wrong … They should withdraw their unconstitutional order.”

The UF chapter is being represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of Florida and Palestine Legal. Representing USF’s chapter are the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Legal Defense Fund, CAIR Florida, Erchid Law Firm and firm Mehri & Skalet.

They’re suing DeSantis, Rodrigues, the Florida Board of Governors, the university presidents and the Boards of Trustees.

Chilling claims ‘not objectively reasonable,’ defense says

DeSantis’ legal team argues that the governor has no power to enforce the directive or to rescind it, and, therefore, also can’t offer relief to the plaintiffs.

“While the Governor appoints members to the Board of Governors and occasionally recommends courses of action to the Chancellor, Chancellor Rodrigues’s decisions are his own — they are neither traceable to nor redressable by the Governor,” wrote DeSantis’ legal team in a court filing.

(Note that on the website for DeSantis’ failed presidential campaign, it says, “DeSantis' admin directed Florida universities to enforce the law and terminate student chapters, such as National Students for Justice in Palestine …  that support Hamas' terrorism and a felony under Florida law to knowingly provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.”)

Ashley Lukis, an attorney representing state higher education officials, argued that Rodrigues and the Board of Governors has no direct authority over how universities manage student organizations. UF and USF didn’t deactivate the chapters, and she discounted the plaintiffs having sufficient injury to have standing in the case.

She told Walker that allegations of a chilling effect are “not objectively reasonable.”

Lukis works for the firm GrayRobinson. The Department of Education has entered into an up-to $150,000 contract with it for representation in the suits, according to state records.

Walker said he thought this would be an “entirely different case” if actions had been taken against the organizations, or even if investigators had been sent to them. He said there “has to be some meat on the bone for (a threat) to be reasonable and imminent.”

But Hauss accused the defense of “strategic ambiguity,” where they could continue to chill the organizations’ activities while claiming in court the students are not being chilled since they're not deactivated. He said it could be cleared up if the defense lawyers at the hearing would say the directive was not going to be enforced.

The defense lawyers did not do so.

What else is happening?

The hearing comes at a time when Florida and the world is fraught with tensions as the conflict continues between Israel and Hamas.

The U.N.'s top court Friday ordered Israel to take measures to limit death and destruction in Gaza as part of a case brought by South Africa alleging that Israel’s military action in its war with Hamas amounts to genocide. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in response, “We will continue to do what is necessary to defend our country and defend our people.”

A few days before, a Palestinian-American University of Central Florida student made death threats against three Jewish students and was subsequently arrested on felony charges.

And, on Thursday, a bill that opponents say violates the First Amendment because it would withdraw financial aid and state scholarships from college students who promote “foreign terrorist organizations” such as Hamas cleared its first House subcommittee this week.

In response, a multitude of pro-Palestinian organizations from across the state announced they would be protesting at the Florida Capitol on Tuesday.

“We think it is important to show the wide support for Palestine and to fight back against these bills that threaten freedom of speech and effectively punish those who are pro Palestine,” wrote Florida State University’s chapter of Students for Democratic Society in a press release.

The USA TODAY NETWORK contributed to this report. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Fla. He can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. On X: @DouglasSoule.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida pro-Palestinian students urge judge to block DeSantis' threats