Former Florida A&M University (FAMU) student Elijah Hooks was arrested for trespassing by the FAMU Police Department (FAMU PD) on Sept. 17 after attempting to speak at a Board of Trustees meeting, sparking outrage from the FAMU student community.
In May, Hooks became one of the faces in a movement against the selection of the newly instated FAMU President Marva Johnson. Johnson was intensely criticized by students and alumni for her association with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling her “MAGA Marva” in reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.
Hooks was suspended from FAMU on May 14 as outlined in an email to him from FAMU’s Division of Student Affairs; later, on May 22, FAMU PD issued him a trespass warning. The Sept. 17 arrest report details that during a brief stop on the way to Leon County Detention Facility, where Hooks was booked, he claims that he was “battered on scene” by a FAMU PD officer.
On Oct. 2, at a rally organized by FAMU SDS, students gathered at the Eternal Flame monument on the quad of FAMU to bring attention to Hooks’ experience and express their sentiments about FAMU’s new president.
“As an organization that believes victims first, we are going to follow up with the public records request, but so far, what we’ve heard from conversations with admin has been disheartening,” President of FAMU SDS Justin Jordan told the FSView in an interview. “We are going to do our due diligence and look for more information to see exactly what happened because while we are an organization that stands with victims, we are also one that is committed to telling the truth to our community.”
At the rally, students repeated chants like “hey hey ho ho, MAGA Marva has got to go,” “no silence, no fear, MAGA is not welcome here” and “education is a right, not just for the rich and white.”
“It is horrifying and indicative of the MAGA movement’s crackdown on freedom of speech that the very student leader who would garner over 18 thousand signatures against Marva Johnson would be suspended with no transparency at all from the school,” the Tallahassee and FAMU SDS organizations said in a joint Instagram post.
Taped to various posts around the quad were two posters: one advertising the rally by FAMU SDS, another with the statement “Elijah Hooks is a selfish fraud” over an image of what appears to be the arrest report. It is unclear who put up this poster.
While conflicting messages about the reality of the incident circle FAMU’s community, student advocates with FAMU SDS told the FSView that they remain vigilant in advocating for their school, particularly in ensuring leadership reflects support for students and the values of their institution.
“We are a school with a history of activism, our students were leaders in the bus boycotts, we fought against the apartheid government of South Africa, no matter who is in the Presidential chair at FAMU, we, the students, will continue to fight and make our voices heard,” Jordan said.
Student protesters highlighted Hooks’ past achievements as a student leader who held multiple positions within FAMU’s Student Government Association. Advocates have called into question FAMU’s acknowledgement of criticism, while leadership at FAMU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) claims that Hooks’ movement against Johnson led to his being trespassed.
“We think that it’s no accident that Elijah Hooks, a model student who had no other disciplinary incidents as far as we know, was suddenly trespassed from his own campus after leading a massive protest movement against Marva Johnson,” Jordan said.
A Change.org petition with over 18,000 signatures claims the justification for Hooks’ arrest outlined in the arrest report is false and implores the judge assigned to the case “show mercy and understanding in [their] decision.”
The petition was initially started in May by Hooks, originally titled “FAMU Deserves Better: Students and Alumni Oppose Marva Johnson for FAMU President.” The petition is currently under review and is not accessible.
A GoFundMe was also started by a “close friend and brother to Elijah ‘Eli’ Hooks” to gain financial support for “medical bills, legal fees and the ongoing challenges of rebuilding his life and fighting for justice,” as written in the description of the fund.
FAMU has outlined criteria under which disciplinary action might be taken, noting that, due to FERPA laws, there are restrictions on what can be shared.
“While we support the right to express diverse viewpoints, we do not tolerate threats or intimidation directed at students, faculty or staff. Such behavior is subject to disciplinary action, including possible expulsion for students,” Vice President, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Alonda Thomas said to the FSView in response to the request for a statement regarding Hooks.
The university did not condemn freedom of speech and highlighted the importance of maintaining safe conditions for students and community members on campus.
“Florida A&M University is committed to upholding freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly. At the same time, we have a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of our campus community,” Thomas said to the FSView. “The university has established guidelines outlining when and where organizations may peacefully assemble on campus.”
Adalyn Pickett is the Deputy News Editor for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com.
This article originally appeared on FSU News: FAMU student arrested and expelled, community rallies in response
Reporting by Adalyn Pickett, Deputy News Editor / FSU News
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