Florida sued over ban on pro-Palestinian student groups

The American Civil Liberties Union challenged Florida’s ban on pro-Palestinian university groups, arguing in a federal lawsuit on Thursday that the state is
violating students’ free speech as tensions roil U.S. campuses over Israel’s war with Hamas.
Florida’s university system, joined by Governor Ron DeSantis, last month ordered colleges to shut down chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group at the center of U.S. campus activism since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
The suit – against DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, and several state university system officials – seeks a preliminary injunction to a state order blocking SJP from receiving school funds and using campus facilities.
At least two Florida universities – the University of Florida and the University of South Florida – have SJP chapters.