Copyright The Independent Florida Alligator
Former UF law student Preston Damsky is taking to the courts to determine if an off-campus post warranted his expulsion. The university is claiming Damsky’s posts, in which he referred to himself as an “anti-Semite” and called for the elimination of Jewish people, could be viewed as a threat and disrupted the UF learning environment. His attorney, Anthony Sabatini, is arguing otherwise. “It was just trolling,” Sabatini said. Damsky appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon for a preliminary injunction against UF for his expulsion from the university. Both parties gathered to present their arguments to Chief Judge Allen Winsor, who questioned both sides of the case’s arguments. Windsor did not make a verdict. Chris Summerlin, UF dean of students, notified Damsky Aug. 8 he’d be expelled from the university, according to the lawsuit — a decision Damsky appealed one month later. UF responded Oct. 10 by arguing the expulsion did not violate his rights. UF issued a trespass warning April 3 banning Damsky from campus for three years, citing the escalating rhetoric and threatening nature of his words. Until his expulsion was finalized Oct. 9, Damsky was still taking online classes as a law student. Damsky sat slumped back with his chin down in court as he watched Sabatini make his case. On March 21, Damsky posted on X, “My position on Jews is simple: whatever Harvard professor Noel Ignatiev meant by his call to ‘abolish the White race by any means necessary’ is what I think must be done with Jews. Jews must be abolished by any means necessary.” Sabatini said Damsky had roughly 25 followers at the time of the initial post, and it was not a literal, aimed statement. Rather, he argued, his client posted an intellectual, thoughtful post for a small audience of like-minded individuals. It was far from a true threat, as it did not specifically target any person, he said. Schools must protect views, even if they’re unpopular and made off-campus, Sabatini said. “It was pure viewpoint discrimination,” he said of UF’s actions. Arguing on behalf of UF, lead attorney Christopher Bartolomucci countered Damsky’s statements were a true threat and caused substantial disruption on campus. About a week after Damsky’s initial post, professor Lyrissa Lidsky, a Jewish member of the UF law faculty, replied and asked if Damsky would murder her and her family. “Surely a genocide of all whites should be an even greater outrage than a genocide of all Jews, given the far greater number of whites,” Damsky wrote in response. In responding to Lidsky, Damsky involved UF into his speech, Bartolomucci said. Damsky also didn’t disagree with Lidsky’s question, Bartolomucci pointed out, causing her to “sleep with a baseball bat” after the exchange. Lidsky hadn’t initially felt threatened by the post, but that changed after several students came to her office expressing fear for her safety and concern that Damsky might come to the law school armed, according to UF’s motion to dismiss the case, filed Oct. 10. Students skipped class and chose not to enroll in others because of Damsky, Bartolomucci said, and one professor quit. The former law student’s statements were “wildly viewed as a threat,” he said. Two academic papers Damsky had written in 2024 had been widely circulated by students, he said. Both called for violence, and other law students knew about them. One paper, submitted to his professor Federal Judge John L. Badalamenti, argued the phrase “We the People” in the Constitution referred only to white Americans. After Damsky received a book award, given to students with the highest overall grade in a UF law school class, Badalamenti informed him there were anonymous demands that the school retract his book award and denounce him and his viewpoints publicly. Badalamenti disagreed with Damsky’s views, according to court records, but he did not say Damsky intended to threaten university operations or incite others to do so. Bartolomucci ended with a final plea to the judge, saying UF did not prevent or chill Damsky’s speech. If UF didn’t take action on a statement like Damsky’s, and then an incident happened, it would be an intolerable situation, he said. “UF needs power to take action,” Bartolomucci said. Email Maria Avlonitis at mavlonitis@alligator.org. Follow her on X @MariaAvlonitis.
