Politics

Judge hears arguments over UF law student’s expulsion

Published

1 month ago

October 30, 2025

A federal Judge heard arguments in the case of a University of Florida law student expelled for antisemitic tweets. The student’s lawyer said he was being wrongly punished for views the school simply didn’t like, while UF responded it has every right to remove anyone threatening violence.

The university is “a nursery of democracy,” and it does not have the right to limit free speech off campus grounds, said Anthony Sabatini, the attorney for student Preston Damsky, who is suing UF.

Christopher Bartolomucci, representing UF Dean of Students Chris Summerlin, emphasized that the university has the right to protect its students and faculty from perceived threats.

After the 90-minute hearing, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said he would rule in the coming weeks narrowly on whether Damsky should be allowed to return to campus. A broader lawsuit seeking sanctions against UF over its actions toward the student continues in federal court.

At a time when Gov. Ron DeSantis has praised Florida universities as being champions of free speech, Damsky, 29, sued Summerlin for what he described as violating his First Amendment rights. The former UF law student found himself at the center of a free speech fight after drawing national attention for a series of antisemitic tweets and his award-winning seminar paper with White nationalist themes.

In August, Damsky was notified of his expulsion after UF banned him from campus in April. He appealed the expulsion from Summerlin. A UF appeal panel denied the appeal. Damsky took his case to the federal courts, saying his free speech rights were violated.

Sabatini said Damsky’s statements were not literal or targeted. “It was basically trolling,” he said. Damsky tweeted that Jews should be abolished to around 25 followers. It wasn’t until a UF law professor responded, asking if Damsky would murder her and her family, that the tweet raised broad concerns among UF law students and faculty.

Damsky’s claims were made off-campus, Sabatini said. He didn’t directly target or insinuate that a violent action would take place, and as a result, his actions should not be perceived as a threat under the First Amendment.

Winsor questioned whether the situation would change if Damsky had exchanged messages with a professor from a different university than UF. The Judge said plenty of threats have been considered in criminal and civil cases without targeting a specific individual.

Bartolomucci argued that the university has the authority to act against a student who threatens violence. While the tweet was made from off-campus, Damsky connected to the university as soon as he responded to the law professor.

UF’s lawyer said Damsky’s tweet targeted a large population of UF’s campus, home to the largest Jewish student population of any public university in the United States, disrupting campus and engaging recklessly with the professor.

According to Bartolomucci and court records, the law professor began sleeping with a baseball bat within arm’s reach. Students refused to enroll in classes they shared with Damsky. The university heightened its police presence near the law school following his posts.

The university argued that Damsky initiated the threat, not the professor, when he decided to publish on a public-facing social media account.

“A school like UF has to have the power to take action against a student’s speech they see as a threat,” Bartolomucci said.

The context of Damsky’s seminar papers, which promoted white supremacist values, heightened students’ concerns of a perceived threat, Bartolomucci said. However, the content of the seminar was not subject to the hearing, Winsor said.

Sabatini said Damsky’s expulsion would cause him irreparable harm by delaying his opportunity to become a lawyer.

UF made it clear that before Oct. 9 — when Damsky’s expulsion went into effect after his unsuccessful appeal — Damsky had access to his courses, lectures and exams as a remote student.

“He was unknown on campus,” Sabatini said. “Reasonable people would see (his response to the professor) as a denial.”

Damsky is no stranger to being at the center of controversy. In one of his seminar papers titled “National Constitutionalism,” he argued the Constitution only applies to White people. His seminar received a book award, an honor given to the highest-scoring student in a UF law course taught by Trump-nominated federal Judge, John L. Badalamenti. While Badalamenti did not agree with Damsky’s views, he felt Damsky posed no threat to the university, according to court records.

UF College of Law Interim Dean Merritt McAlister initially defended the seminar, stating Damsky’s opinions were protected by the First Amendment in an email in February 2025.

It wasn’t until Damsky took to X that his future at the University of Florida was put into question. In March 2025, following a series of antisemitic tweets, Damsky wrote, “Jews must be abolished by any means necessary.”

Damsky argued his posts didn’t incite violence or pose a threat.

On the steps of the federal courthouse, Sabatini stood with his client and said, “The defense arguments were bad, respectfully.” Damsky did not say anything and did not answer any questions.

If Damsky loses, Sabatini promised they will appeal.
___

This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at [email protected]. You can donate to support our students here.

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Politics

Debra Tendrich turns ‘pain into policy’ with sweeping anti-domestic violence proposal

Published

1 hour ago

December 5, 2025

May Greene

Florida could soon rewrite how it responds to domestic violence.

Lake Worth Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich has filed HB 277, a sweeping proposal aimed at modernizing the state’s domestic violence laws with major reforms to prevention, first responder training, court safeguards, diversion programs and victim safety.

It’s a deeply personal issue to Tendrich, who moved to Florida in 2012 to escape what she has described as a “domestic violence situation,” with only her daughter and a suitcase.

“As a survivor myself, HB 277 is more than legislation; it is my way of turning pain into policy,” she said in a statement, adding that months of roundtables with survivors and first responders “shaped this bill from start to finish.”

Tendrich said that, if passed, HB 277 or its upper-chamber analogue (SB 682) by Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud would become Florida’s most comprehensive domestic violence initiative, covering prevention, early intervention, criminal accountability and survivor support.

It would require mandatory strangulation and domestic violence training for emergency medical technicians and paramedics, modernize the legal definition of domestic violence, expand the courts’ authority to order GPS monitoring and strengthen body camera requirements during investigations.

The bill also creates a treatment-based diversion pathway for first-time offenders who plead guilty and complete a batterers intervention program, mental-health services and weekly court-monitored progress reporting. Upon successful completion, charges could be dismissed, a measure Tendrich says will reduce recidivism while maintaining accountability.

On the victim-safety side, HB 277 would flag addresses for 12 months after a domestic-violence 911 call to give responders real-time risk awareness. It would also expand access to text-to-911, require pamphlets detailing the medical dangers of strangulation, authorize well-check visits tied to lethality assessments, enhance penalties for repeat offenders and include pets and service animals in injunctions to prevent coercive control and harm.

Calatayud called it “a tremendous honor and privilege” to work with Tendrich on advancing policy changes “that both law enforcement and survivors of domestic abuse or relationship violence believe are meaningful to protect families across our communities.”

“I’m deeply committed to championing these essential reforms,” she added, saying they would make “a life-or-death difference for women and children in Florida.”

Organizations supporting HB 277 say the bill reflects long-needed, practical reform. Palm Beach County firefighters union IAFF Local 2928 said expanded responder training and improved dispatch information “is exactly the kind of frontline-focused reform that saves lives.”

The Florida Police Benevolent Association called HB 277 a “comprehensive set of measures designed to enhance protections” and pledged to help advance it through the Legislature.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund praised provisions protecting pets in domestic violence cases, noting research showing that 89% of women with pets in abusive relationships have had partners threaten or harm their animals — a major barrier that keeps victims from fleeing.

Florida continues to see high levels of domestic violence. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates that 38% of Florida women and 29% of Florida men experience intimate-partner violence in their lifetimes — among the highest rates in the country.

With costs rising statewide, HB 277 also increases relocation assistance through the Crimes Compensation Trust Fund, which advocates say is essential because the current $1,500 cap no longer covers basic expenses for victims fleeing dangerous situations.

Tendrich said survivors who contributed to the bill, which Placida Republican Rep. Danny Nix is co-sponsoring, “finally feel seen.”

“This bill will save lives,” she said. “I am proud that this bill has bipartisan support, and I am even more proud of the survivors whose bravery drives every line of this legislation.”

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Politics

Ash Marwah, Ralph Massullo battle for SD 11 Special Election

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

May Greene

Even Ash Marwah knows the odds do him no favors.

A Senate district that leans heavily Republican plus a Special Election just weeks before Christmas — Marwah acknowledges it adds up to a likely Tuesday victory for Ralph Massullo.

The Senate District 11 Special Election is Tuesday to fill the void created when Blaise Ingoglia became Chief Financial Officer.

It pits Republican Massullo, a dermatologist and Republican former four-term House member from Lecanto, against Democrat Marwah, a civil engineer from The Villages.

Early voter turnout was light, as would be expected in a low-key standalone Special Election: At 10% or under for Hernando and Pasco counties, 19% in Sumter and 15% in Citrus.

Massullo has eyed this Senate seat since 2022 when he originally planned to leave the House after six years for the SD 11 run. His campaign ended prematurely when Gov. Ron DeSantis backed Ingoglia, leaving Massullo with a final two years in office before term limits ended his House career.

When the SD 11 seat opened up with Ingoglia’s CFO appointment, Massullo jumped in and a host of big-name endorsements followed, including from DeSantis, Ingoglia, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, U.S. Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott, four GOP Congressmen, county Sheriffs in the district, and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus is endorsing Marwah.

Marwah ran for HD 52 in 2024, garnering just 24% of the vote against Republican John Temple.

Massullo has raised $249,950 to Marwah’s $12,125. Massullo’s $108,000 in spending includes consulting, events and mail pieces. One of those mail pieces reminded voters there’s an election.

The two opponents had few opportunities for head-to-head debate. The League of Women Voters of Citrus County conducted a SD 11 forum on Zoom in late October, when the two candidates clashed over the state’s direction.

Marwah said DeSantis and Republicans are “playing games” in their attempts to redraw congressional district boundaries.

“No need to go through this expense,” he said. “It will really ruin decades of progress in civil rights. We should honor the rule of law that we agreed on that it’ll be done every 10 years. I’m not sure why the game is being played at this point.”

Massullo said congressional districts should reflect population shifts.

“The people of our state deserve to be adequately represented based on population,” he said. “I personally do not believe we should use race as a means to justify particular areas. I’m one that believes we should be blind to race, blind to creed, blind to sex, in everything that we do, particularly looking at population.”

Senate District 11 covers all of Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties, plus a portion of northern Pasco County. It is safely Republican — Ingoglia won 69% of the vote there in November, and Donald Trump carried the district by the same margin in 2024.

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Politics

Miles Davis tapped to lead School Board organizing workshop at national LGBTQ conference

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

May Greene

Miles Davis is taking his Florida-focused organizing playbook to the national stage.

Davis, Policy Director at PRISM Florida and Director of Advocacy and Communications at SAVE, has been selected to present a workshop at the 2026 Creating Change Conference, the largest annual LGBTQ advocacy and movement-building convention.

It’s a major nod to his rising role in Florida’s LGBTQ policy landscape.

The National LGBTQ Task Force, which organizes the conference, announced that Davis will present his session, “School Board Organizing 101.” His proposal rose to the top of more than 550 submissions competing for roughly 140 slots, a press note said, making this year’s conference one of the most competitive program cycles in the event’s history.

His workshop will be scheduled during the Jan. 21-24 gathering in Washington, D.C.

Davis said his selection caps a strong year for PRISM Florida, where he helped shepherd the organization’s first-ever bill (HB 331) into the Legislature. The measure, sponsored by Tampa Democratic Rep. Dianne Hart, would restore local oversight over reproductive health and HIV/AIDS instruction, undoing changes enacted under a 2023 expansion to Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.

Davis’ workshop draws directly from that work and aims to train LGBTQ youth, families and advocates in how local boards operate, how public comment can shape decisions and how communities can mobilize around issues like book access, inclusive classrooms and student safety.

“School boards are where the real battles over student safety, book access, and inclusive classrooms are happening,” Davis said. “I’m honored to bring this training to Creating Change and help our community build the skills to show up, speak out, and win — especially as PRISM advances legislation like HB 331 that returns power to our local communities.”

Davis’ profile has grown in recent years, during which he jumped from working on the campaigns and legislative teams of lawmakers like Hart and Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones to working in key roles for organizations like America Votes, PRISM and SAVE.

The National LGBTQ Task Force, founded in 1973, is one of the nation’s oldest LGBTQ advocacy organizations. It focuses on advancing civil rights through federal policy work, grassroots engagement and leadership development.