A federal judge in Gainesville heard testimony May 27 in the case of a former University of Florida law student who says the university violated his free speech rights by expelling him over antisemitic posts he made on X.
Preston Damsky, a self-described white nationalist and antisemite, was expelled from UF’s Levin College of Law in August 2025 after calling for violence against Jewish people in a series of social media posts.
Quoting a controversial historian, Noel Ignatiev, Damsky wrote on X in late March 2025, “Jews must be abolished by any means necessary.” Several other X posts shared in the case called for violence against Jewish people and made disparaging remarks against Black people and immigrants.
After Damsky’s expulsion, he filed a lawsuit against UF for, he argued, violating his first amendment right to free speech.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor is presiding over the two-day trial, where Damsky is seeking reinstatement to UF’s law school. Although Winsor ordered him reinstated in November, a federal appeals court quickly put that ruling on hold.
The trial comes as universities across the country crack down on antisemitism amid rising hate speech and violence against Jewish people. It could serve as a benchmark for how public colleges and universities can punish offensive speech.
UF official said expelled law student’s posts broke code of conduct
Chris Summerlin, dean of students at UF and a defendant in the case against Damsky, said during the trial that Damsky’s social media posts violated the university’s code of conduct by harassing students and disrupting campus operations in ways that put students’ safety at risk.
The violations were outlined in Damsky’s official expulsion letter, which was sent to Damsky after an investigation and disciplinary recommendation by the University Officials Board. But Anthony Sabatini, Damsky’s lawyer, denies that his client’s behavior was as serious as UF claims.
Sabatini, a UF law school graduate and former Republican state representative, was dismissive of numerous complaints by students, faculty and staff that Damsky’s rhetoric and behavior “severely disrupted normal campus operations” and negatively affected the student body. Damsky said he did not intend to be disruptive.
Sabatini claimed that UF targeted Damsky for his political views, citing what he deemed irrelevant evidence that the university considered in its decision to expel the former law student, including two seminar papers Damsky wrote and a T-shirt he wore that said, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
A staff member also reported an incident that occurred two years prior to Damsky’s suspension and subsequent expulsion accusing him of violently kicking a locked door on campus and later shouting expletives at her. Her written statement was referenced in court.
Janice Shaw, associate dean of career and student services at the law school, testified that she learned of the incident shortly after it happened and that it was an example of an escalating pattern of behavior from Damsky. Damsky said he had no recollection of the encounter.
Shaw testified on May 27 that Damsky’s rhetoric and behavior made students and faculty fearful for their lives. She said that she received several complaints from students about his social media posts and seminar papers that called for violence.
UF student said Damsky fit profile of school shooter
She shared that some students had stopped studying on campus, skipped class and other campus activities, withdrew from courses Damsky was enrolled in and often came to her office crying. One student, she said, survived the Parkland school shooting and thought Damsky fit the profile of a school shooter.
Shaw said she tried to talk to Damsky about his classmates’ concerns and was unsettled by his lack of remorse. In a one-on-one meeting with Damsky, he told her that he was upset his classmates were scared of him but never thought about harming anyone and said he “wanted to be a prosecutor to put people away who were worse than him.”
Lyrissa Lidsky, a First Amendment law professor at UF, also testified. She commented on the X post that led to Damsky’s expulsion. She told the courtroom that she wasn’t scared of Damsky until her students started coming to her office and voicing concerns for her safety.
“Are you saying you would murder me and my family? Is that your position?” she replied on X.
Damsky wrote back, “Did Ignatiev want Whites murdered? If so, were his words as objectionable as mine? If Ignatiev sought genocide, then surely a genocide of all Whites would be an even greater outrage than a genocide of all Jews, given the far greater number of Whites.”
Lidsky said she commented on Damsky’s post because she wanted to know more about his intent and believed she had a right to counter speech. But she was disappointed by Demsky’s reply, which she described as a deflection that “utterly missed the point.”
In April 2025, she canceled a class due to her exhaustion in trying to handle the situation and later took down her X account.
She said after the post and her comment started circulating, a local rabbi asked her if she needed personal security. She rejected the security but she and her husband, Lidsky said, slept with a baseball bat next to their bed for weeks.
Damsky said he felt “baited” by Lidsky’s comment.
The trial will continue May 28.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Federal judge hears UF expulsion case tied to antisemitic posts
Reporting by Chelsea Long, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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