College Republicans sue over Florida chapter deactivation

College Republicans filed a lawsuit against the University of Florida (UF) after its chapter was shut down due to alleged antisemitic behavior.  

The university’s group said their First Amendment rights were violated by the school’s decision. 

“The University of Florida punitively deactivated and shut down the UFCR, in response to alleged viewpoints expressed by a member of UFCR, and in an effort to silence the club and chill its future speech,” the lawsuit reads.  

UF said it deactivated the chapter after the Florida Federation of College Republicans said the group was disbanded because members “engaged in a pattern of conduct that violated its rules and values, including a recent antisemitic gesture,” The Associated Press reported. 

“After the deactivation, UF sought to justify its unlawful decision by providing a false pretext as a basis, asserting that it had acted at the behest of a third-party group, the Florida Federation of College Republicans (FFCR), a group with no authority over or affiliation with UFCR,” the lawsuit reads.

The complaint also said the university did not give the group a chance to defend its side before the deactivation occurred. The move makes it so the group loses access to resources that are open to other student organizations on the campus, according to the suit.

The Hill has reached out to the University of Florida for comment.  

The school previously stated it will reactivate the chapter when new student leadership is ready, according to the AP. 

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