The University of Florida is being sued by its College Republicans chapter after the institution shut down the student group last week when a picture circulated on social media of two of its members performing a Nazi salute.
In a lawsuit filed in Gainesville on Monday against UF’s interim president, Donald W. Landry, the group accuses the school of violating its First Amendment rights to free speech and seeks an emergency order to reinstate it and restore its access to campus facilities, funding, and event privileges, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
The College Republicans are asking a federal judge to rule that UF’s move was unconstitutional and order it to pay compensation and legal fees, arguing in their lawsuit that the “contested expression” at the heart of the matter amounted to political speech concerning current events that did not constitute a threat or incitement.
According to The New York Times, in addition to the Nazi gesture, another member of the club wrote in a group chat that Adolf Hitler “didn’t do enough,” although the person in question subsequently told the newspaper that he intended the comment only as “joking banter” and had not intended to cause offense.
The university said in a statement posted on X (Twitter) Saturday that the Florida Federation of College Republicans had found that some members of the local chapter had “engaged in a pattern of conduct that violated its rules and values, including a recent antisemitic gesture.”
It said the FFCR had requested that it “deactivate” the chapter as an official student organization, while it looks to reorganize and pursue reinstatement under new student leadership.
That point is contested in the lawsuit, with the plaintiffs arguing that the FFCR is a third-party state organization with no jurisdiction over the chapter, which answers to the national College Republicans of America.
The institution concluded its statement: “The University of Florida has emphatically supported its Jewish community and remains committed to preventing and addressing antisemitism and other forms of discrimination and harassment that are threatening and disruptive to our students and to the teaching, research and expressive activities of the campus community.”
Among those responding angrily to UF’s post was Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, who had been hosted by the chapter at an event on March 11, which the plaintiffs also mentioned in their suit to argue that the university’s move was politically motivated.
“Let me get this straight: 48 hours after the UF College Republicans hosted me and 500+ supporters, you terminated them, violating the First Amendment, which you are legally bound to as a public university,” Fishback wrote on X. “Disgusting traitors.”
Also responding was Anthony Sabatini, the attorney for the chapter, a former state GOP lawmaker himself, who threatened the lawsuit he duly delivered by saying: “This is completely illegal – I spoke with UFCR leadership & we will be filing a First Amendment retaliation lawsuit under Section 1983 Monday morning against you seeking an injunction
“UF has engaged in enormous viewpoint discrimination over the past year & it must be stopped NOW.”
Gabe Guidarini, of Turning Point Action and the Ohio College Republican Federation, said: “FFCR doesn’t have authority to ‘disband’ a club it does not possess, regardless of who the club lets speak or what certain meeting attendees (who aren’t even in their leadership) have done.”
University spokesperson Cynthia Roldan told The Independent that UF does not comment on pending litigation.
The Independent has also reached out to the UF College Republicans for further comment.
The situation comes just weeks after the president of Florida International University’s Turning Point USA chapter had resigned in Miami after a series of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic group chat messages were leaked.
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