Brandeis Center Files Amicus Brief in Support of University of Florida Law Expelling Student for Violent, Anti-Semitic Posts

Brandeis Center’s amicus brief demonstrates dangers of anti-Semitism disguised as free speech

By: TJVNews.com

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law today filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Damsky v. Summerlin, urging the Court to reverse a trial judge and vacate a preliminary injunction that required the University of Florida to reinstate  Preston Damsky, a law student who posted racist, anti-Semitic and violent rhetoric on social media. In March 2025, Damsky posted on X that “Jews should be abolished by any means necessary.” The Brandeis Center’s brief argues that the trial court’s ruling that Damsky’s expulsion violated his First Amendment rights was inconsistent with settled legal principles and ignored the undisputed effect that Damsky’s conduct  had on the Jewish community at UF Law.

In August 2025, UF expelled Damsky, finding that his threatening and anti-Semitic conduct substantially disrupted university operations. One month later, Damsky sued UF, alleging that his expulsion violated his First Amendment right to free speech and seeking a preliminary injunction requiring UF to reinstate him. The District Court granted that motion in November 2025 and ordered that UF return Damsky to normal standing at the school. On January 8, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit granted UF’s motion for a stay of the injunction pending appeal.

As described in detail in the Brandeis Center’s amicus brief, which was filed on behalf of more than 130 Jewish students and professors at the school, Damsky’s threats came after more than a year of alarming conduct and speech, including writings arguing racial violence.

In the period culminating in Damsky’s  expulsion, as established in the disciplinary hearing held by the school (at which Damsky was permitted to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses), the Jewish students and faculty at UF Law lived in fear of physical violence. The amicus brief details how the students’ anxiety led them to carry pepper spray, escort one another to their cars, and be constantly on edge, particularly when hearing loud noises. The fear was so intense that students missed classes and academic events to focus on safety, struggled to study, and even left campus to protect their physical and mental well-being.

The Brandeis Center’s amicus brief establishes that Damsky’s actions constituted a “true threat,” which the Supreme Court has made clear is not protected free speech. The brief also explains that, in these circumstances, universities must be given deference in making decisions needed to protect the school community – especially in the current environment, in which anti-Semitic threats and violence are escalating across the country.

“The university was absolutely right to hold this student accountable, and we hope the Court sustains the University’s reasonable decision to expel Mr. Damsky,” said Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education who ran the Office for Civil Rights, which investigates schools for civil rights violations, during two administrations. “At a time when hatred toward an entire population of people continues to rise, we must support university leaders who take prompt action to avert bloodshed. ”

The Brandeis Center recently secured major settlements with Pomona College, UC Berkeley, Nysmith School and the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys. The Center has also been responsible for precedent-setting agreements with Harvard University, requiring Harvard to implement the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism and recognizing the centrality of Zionism to Jewish identity. In addition, the Center reached a landmark agreement with Unilever over Ben & Jerry’s attempt to boycott Israel, marking one of the largest defeats sustained by the BDS movement. The organization also recently helped Jews challenge discriminatory practices at Microsoft and the New York Legal Aid Group’s union.

About The Brandeis Center

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is an independent, non-partisan, nonprofit corporation established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. LDB engages in research, education, and legal advocacy to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses, in the workplace, and elsewhere. It also empowers students by training them to understand their legal rights and educates administrators and employers on best practices to combat anti-Semitism. The Brandeis Center is not affiliated with the Massachusetts university, the Kentucky law school, or any of the other institutions that share the name and honor the memory of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice.