In
a
surprising
turn
of
events,
class
will
not
be
in
session
for
Preston
Damsky!
For
now,
at
least.
To
recap,
Damsky
was
a
student
at
the
University
of
Florida’s
law
school
that
made
the
most
of
a
Trump-appointed
judge
teaching
a
class
by
rehashing
Klan
constitutionalism
—
he
CALI’d
the
class,
of
course.
And
while
the
paper
he
wrote
about
killing
Mexicans
and
disenfranchising
non-whites
got
him
some
notoriety,
he
wasn’t
in
trouble
over
it
per
se.
He
got
in
trouble
after
he
took
to
Twitter
to
announce
that
“Jews
should
be
abolished
by
any
means.”
That
tweet
was
read
as
a
threat
by
the
university
and
prompted
them
to
expel
Damsky
to
prevent
the
campus
from
becoming
hostile.
Damsky
pushed
back
and
sued
the
school
for
violating
the
First
Amendment
by
retaliating
against
his
political
beliefs.
That
case
came
out
in
his
favor;
Damsky
won
the
battle
and
the
school
was
told
to
reinstate
him.
But
the
war
isn’t
over!
Tallahassee
Democrat
has
coverage:
A
federal
appeals
court
has
paused
a
self-described
white
nationalist
law
student’s return
to
the
University
of
Florida,
a
week
after
a
lower-court
judge
ordered
the
law
school
to
reinstate Preston
Damsky by
Dec.
1.The
11th
U.S.
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
issued
an
administrative
stay
Dec.
3
–
a
temporary
hold
on
the
judge’s
ruling
–
until
a
three-judge
appellate
panel
weighs
in.
Preston
will
have
to
put
a
hold
on
any
potential
on-campus
goose-stepping
too.
University
of
Florida
PD
handed
Damsky
a
trespass
warning
in
the
meantime.
It
isn’t
clear
if
the
panel’s
decision
will
change
the
ultimate
outcome,
and
that’s
kind
of
a
big
deal.
I
think
that
answering
the
case’s
central
question
—
does
political
advocacy
for
removing
(or
abolishing)
a
class
of
people
constitute
an
immediate
enough
threat
to
be
actionable
—
will
add
some
definition
to
the
blurry
line
that
separates
acceptable
speech
suppression
and
obligations
for
universities
to
safeguard
their
faculty
and
students.
If
the
panel
rules
in
the
school’s
favor,
I
wonder
what
the
spillover
will
look
like.
This
is
Florida,
after
all.
If
some
student
tweets
“ICE
is
on
a
divine
mission
to
relieve
America
of
Mexican
illegals
and
if
they
do
it
by
feeding
them
to
alligators,
so
be
it,”
is
that
grounds
for
expulsion?
If
so,
UoF
students
better
be
cautious
about
retweeting
Laura
Loomer
content
as
they
finish
up
their
degrees.
White
Nationalist’s
Reinstatement
To
UF
Law
School
Now
On
Pause
[Tallahassee
Democrat]
White
Supremacist
Law
Student
Reinstated
To
University
of
Florida
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.